THE ‘famous thief’ of Fiat Street bit off more than he could chew when he broke into Eden Park Police Station in the early hours of Thursday, 1 March.
“This thief disrespects the community and even the law itself,” said Captain Emmanuel Jele with a frowning face. “He has broken into so many houses and even churches. He is the cause of my rising blood pressure and my high sugar level.”
It is not known how many suspects were involved in the break-in at the Eden Park SAPS. According to the police, the burglar or burglars entered through a kitchen window and climbed through a trapdoor in the ceiling to get access to the locked Criminal Investigation Department (CID) offices.
Jele said that when they arrived in the morning, they found the offices turned into pigsties with holes cut in the ceiling.
“The thief stole computers, monitors, laptops and cellphones. He emptied all the drawers, throwing all the contents on the floor. I left my office at 11pm the previous night and it was neat and clean with everything in its place, only to walk in the next morning and find the mess,” Jele said.
As soon as the break-in was discovered, police vehicles were dispatched to Fiat Street where the ‘famous thief’ lives. “The police arrived at the main suspect’s house and right there they found the first laptop under his pillow and immediately arrested him and questioned him about the rest of the stolen goods,” Jele said.
“He took the officers to a friend’s house in Hudson Street, but nobody was found. Acting on a tip-off, the officers went to the thieves’ storeroom in Cortina Street but found nothing. We are aware of the minibus which transports all the stolen goods to be sold somewhere. We know the driver or owner of the minibus,” Jele added.
Some of the stolen computer monitors were reportedly found under plastic pipes left behind by a construction company outside the police station fence.
The suspect’s fingerprints were positively matched with the ones on the kitchen window which was the entry point. Jele said his fingerprints will now be matched with those from all burglaries that have taken place in the area over the past two or three years.
“Now we can sleep in peace,” some community members at the police station shouted when they saw the suspect in handcuffs. “The famous thief is arrested.”
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