Watch traps a post office dief
JOINT: Watch members teamed up to catch Gatesville Post Office ‘skelm’ JOINT: Watch members teamed up to catch Gatesville Post Office ‘skelm’
Members of the Gatesville Neighbourhood Watch caught a suspect after the Gatesville Post Office was burgled TWICE over the Easter Weekend.
The post office was first robbed on Saturday and the suspects got away.
However, on Monday night, residents spotted a burglary in progress and alerted the neighbourhood watch.
Chairwoman Fowzia Veerasamy says five members of her team, all women, immediately responded.
“We were off duty when we were called by residents to investigate. That’s when we witnessed a male running away from the scene with a five-litre bottle of detergent towards the kampies (an area where vagrants hang out) by Vanguard Mall by the canal,” Veerasamy explains.
“Residents called to say there are more skelms inside in the post office and they also witnessed a female running away.
“That’s when we called for other neighbourhood watches to assist. One of my female members was on the roof of the post office already and we caught the suspect on the roof.”
She adds the man was handed over to police and two cases of burglary have been opened.
However, police spokesperson, Siyabulela Malo, says Athlone SAPS has no record of the incident.