A man from Durban is expected to appear at the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) city’s magistrate’s court for a case of theft.
Durban man nabbed for theft
The 48-year-old was arrested on Monday afternoon after he was caught trying to make off with one of the court office’s desktop computers.
According to Durban police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, the suspect was stopped by a court employee as he was attempting to strip the computer off the desk.
Highly suspicious of such gall, the employee probed the man, who claimed he was a technician ordered to take in the computer for repairs.
“When he was approached and questioned he stated that he was a technician and was hired to fix the computers. The staff member got suspicious and summoned the police,” Col. Mbhele noted in a statement.
He could be responsible for more business burglaries
This incident happened at approximately 14:00, at a time where the court usually experiences high levels of traffic. Acting swiftly, the employee called for authorities and first to respond was a team of Durban Central police.
“The Durban Central police swiftly responded and on further questioning the suspect, it discovered that the suspect is actually a con artist who steals from government offices under the pretext of being a technician,” Mbhele added.
Moreover, a probe into the suspect’s background revealed that he was, in fact, in court for a housebreaking case that was registered a few months ago.
Gobsmacked at the 48-year-old’s gall, police placed him under arrest immediately and filed a theft charge against him. However, the buck doesn’t stop there.
Col. Mbhele confirmed that there is a great level of belief that the suspect may have been involved in prior burglary or theft cases in the district that remain unsolved.
“The suspect will also be profiled to ascertain if he is not linked to other burglary business crimes committed in the Durban CBD and its surroundings,” the statement concluded.
