Cape Town robberies at Woodstock offramp

[Vagabond in time]

Does anyone know what's happening with the 18 men arrested for robbing cyclists at this junction? Surely they can't all be culprits. Is it safe to cycle through there now?? I was one of the victims in December and I tracked my 3-week-old iPhone 16. 1st to the bridge over Marine Drive between the harbour entrance and the N1 (where a group of homeless live), then to a house in Brooklyn, where it stayed for roughly an hour, then to the Spar shopping center in Kensington. There are 3 cell phone shops in the center, and I went there to look; a waste of time. I stood out like a sore thumb. No one was going to sell me a new Apple. That night my phone went to a block of flats nearby. The last time I saw it was at CT International Airport. This looks like a chain of guilty parties. 

[Titleist]

And the so called Apple security features are almost as useless as the SAPS😡

[cadenceblur]

13 minutes ago, Titleist said:

And the so called Apple security features are almost as useless as the SAPS😡

You need a functioning SAPS to benefit from the features 

[Titleist]

10 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

You need a functioning SAPS to benefit from the features 

The phone is supposed to be a brick when you disable it after being stolen. That should in theory render it useless and worthless. There must be ways around it otherwise nobody would steal phones.

[Mamil]

I'm also wondering about that - haven't ridden through there since this spasm of criminal activity started 

[Danger Dassie]

Seems a lot of stolen phones around the world tend to go through different phases from data/identity theft to repurposing and spares. 
Also doesn't help if most people don't blackist their devices after a theft. 

https://issafrica.org/iss-today/cellphone-theft-another-indicator-of-south-africas-policing-gaps

https://www.arrivealive.mobi/news.aspx?i=64462&s=1&page=suspect-nabbed-in-possession-of-hundreds-of-robbed-iphones-in-the-jhb-cbd

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/mobiles-dismantled-then-sold-as-parts/articleshow/51901465.cms

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/how-your-stolen-iphone-ends-up-in-one-chinese-city-market-v6rf6w6pv

[MORNE]

3 hours ago, Titleist said:

The phone is supposed to be a brick when you disable it after being stolen. That should in theory render it useless and worthless. There must be ways around it otherwise nobody would steal phones.

He obviously chose the non nuclear option and not to brick it and instead follow it around in the hope of retrieving it. It was new after all as he said 🤷🏻‍♂️ Once you mark it as ‘lost’ and then ‘erase/lock device’…and even put a lock screen message on it should it ever be switched on again….it’s gone - even to you. 
yes, these get sent to wherever oversees, and hardware reset, flashed. 

Edited yesterday at 02:16 PM by MORNE

[mikkelz]

Is there an option to self-destruct? 💣😂

[Shebeen]

4 minutes ago, mikkelz said:

Is there an option to self-destruct? 💣😂

time to go back to pagers.

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/HEZBOLLAH-PAGERS/mopawkkwjpa/

 

[MORNE]

12 minutes ago, mikkelz said:

Is there an option to self-destruct? 💣😂

Imagine…should be a thing! something that overheats the lithium battery to the point of catastrophic failure👀

[wessie12]

Operation this morning 2025-02-15

*WC: WOODSTOCK ROBBER FACES JAIL TIME*
WESTERN CAPE: One of the robbers terrorising cyclists who use the Woodstock bridge to get in and out of Cape Town met his match this morning when he picked the wrong target.

Lt Col Johan Pentz, an avid cyclist himself, conducted an operation with Woodstock Crime Prevention Unit and patrolled the notorious route on his bicycle to gain first-hand information about the robberies while his backup team was in the vicinity. 

While crossing the Woodstock bridge, Lt Col Pentz was attacked by a suspect who managed to grab his cellular telephone pouch, which was in his back pocket, and flee on foot. He was pursued by Lt Col Pentz and apprehended not far from the crime scene. The 34-year-old foreign national also had a tablet in his possession that he could not account for. 

He is detained on charges of robbery and the possession of presumed stolen property and is expected to make his court appearance in Cape Town on Monday.

SAPS and other law enforcement agencies will continue with integrated operations in the area in a bid to neutralise the threat, and in the meantime, cyclists making use of this route are cautioned about the robberies and encouraged to ride in groups and be alert of their surroundings at all times. 
Ends.
 

Edited 9 hours ago by wessie12
Spelling

[Jbr]

About time. We’ve been calling for officers to ride bikes there with a backup team for months !

 

the fact that it happened this morning means the arrests that happened a month ago didn’t solve the issue then…