Most of the recent mall robberies in Gauteng have targeted technical gadgets, Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Lesetja Mothiba said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A cellphone store at the Glen shopping centre in Ormonde, Johannesburg, was robbed on Monday evening, police said.<\/p>\n
“[In] 95 percent of robberies so far, cellphones are the target. Cash is minimal,” Mothiba told reporters in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
“In two incidents cash was [stolen]. Both incidents occurred in Soweto: one at Maponya mall and another at the Black Chain shopping centre in Diepkloof.”<\/p>\n
He said ways of rendering stolen cellphones useless should be looked into. Security measures at some malls were not up to standard.<\/p>\n
“As things stand, these criminals committed these crimes very easily.”<\/p>\n
Mall security was a joint approach between the police and mall management.<\/p>\n
“We would want to see mall security taking that seriously,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We have set up meetings with mall management to beef up security… as well as looking at their security systems at the premises.”<\/p>\n
Mothiba said the CCTV footage at some of the malls was of poor quality, and in some instances cameras were not switched on.<\/p>\n
A reward of R200,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the criminals.<\/p>\n
Five people possibly linked to the robberies were arrested in Brixton and Doornfontein on Tuesday for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.<\/p>\n
“During the arrest police confiscated a 9mm pistol and three semi-automatic rifles as well as 97 live rounds of ammunition,” Mothiba said.<\/p>\n
Mothiba said police were investigating whether they were linked to two mall robberies including the one in Diepkloof, Soweto, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Police would also investigate their links to ATM bombings, taxi violence and business robbery.<\/p>\n
Eleven mall robberies have taken place since August 13.<\/p>\n