Sipho Masombuka
Sipho Masombuka
Soshanguve police near Pretoria are baffled by the discovery of 18 previously used coffins in a house in Block WW in the area yesterday.
Equally baffled residents watched as police made a daylight raid on the house and then removed the coffins which they said seemed to have been dug up from graves.
More baffling say police was the fact that no incidents of dug-up graves had been reported in the area recently. But they are not discounting that the coffins could have come from somewhere else.
The 18 children and adults coffins were soiled, chipped and had damaged handles. They were found piled in the lounge of the four-roomed house.
Police spokesman Inspector Solly Marindi said they received an anonymous tip about the coffins yesterday morning.
"The person who called said he had seen people off-loading the coffins and taking them into the house. We immediately dispatched members of the provincial task team to the house. It appears that the coffins were dug up to be refurbished and sold again. We will get to the bottom of this as soon as we start with our investigations," said Marindi.
He said their preliminary inquiries had established that the owners of the house divorced and sold the house. It is not clear yet who owns the house.
The doors were unlocked when the police arrived.
Neighbours told Sowetan that other coffins were delivered on Sunday afternoon by two men and a woman travelling in a white bakkie.
"We were shocked when we saw the coffins being off-loaded and taken into the house because we could see they were not new. Imagine seeing a number of coffins being off-loaded and taken into an empty house," said one neighbour.
Used coffins found in empty house
Sipho Masombuka
Sipho Masombuka
Soshanguve police near Pretoria are baffled by the discovery of 18 previously used coffins in a house in Block WW in the area yesterday.
Equally baffled residents watched as police made a daylight raid on the house and then removed the coffins which they said seemed to have been dug up from graves.
More baffling say police was the fact that no incidents of dug-up graves had been reported in the area recently. But they are not discounting that the coffins could have come from somewhere else.
The 18 children and adults coffins were soiled, chipped and had damaged handles. They were found piled in the lounge of the four-roomed house.
Police spokesman Inspector Solly Marindi said they received an anonymous tip about the coffins yesterday morning.
"The person who called said he had seen people off-loading the coffins and taking them into the house. We immediately dispatched members of the provincial task team to the house. It appears that the coffins were dug up to be refurbished and sold again. We will get to the bottom of this as soon as we start with our investigations," said Marindi.
He said their preliminary inquiries had established that the owners of the house divorced and sold the house. It is not clear yet who owns the house.
The doors were unlocked when the police arrived.
Neighbours told Sowetan that other coffins were delivered on Sunday afternoon by two men and a woman travelling in a white bakkie.
"We were shocked when we saw the coffins being off-loaded and taken into the house because we could see they were not new. Imagine seeing a number of coffins being off-loaded and taken into an empty house," said one neighbour.
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