By Staff Reporter
A 32-year-old man, who was arrested after he was found in possession of suspected stolen clothes at the Elim Mall, was granted R1 000 bail by the Waterval Magistrate's Court on 11 November.
Thapelo Muleya was arrested on Thursday, 10 November, after the police had received a tip-off from reliable sources about a suspicious vehicle roaming around the Elim Mall and shopping complex since early that morning.
According to the police spokesperson, W/O Foster Rambau, the Waterval police responded quickly and spotted the vehicle at the complex. The vehicle was stopped and searched, whereupon a large quantity of clothes, allegedly stolen from various stores at the mall, was discovered. The suspect was arrested, and his vehicle taken for further investigation.
Preliminary investigations revealed that a team of ladies was allegedly recruited and sent out to steal from the stores. The value of the stolen items amounted to R50 000.
Muleya is expected to appear in the Waterval Magistrate's Court again on Friday, 25 November. "We warn people to refrain from committing crimes of this nature," Rambau said.
According to the centre's manager, Ms Mpho Madadzhe, some of the shops that were targeted included Ackermans, Mr Price, PEP and Sportscene. Madadzhe said that they had made their tenants aware of this kind of crime. "The mall security and tenants are very vigilant. We are working hand in hand with our tenants' security companies and the SAPS to fight against any element of crime in the mall," she said.