Seven suspects were arrested by police at the Kliptown Bagdad flea market on Friday for being in possession of suspected stolen property belonging to the City of Johannesburg.
The suspects will appear in the Kliptown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba said that a concerned Joburg citizen had contacted the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Service (GFIS) Department on Friday morning and informed the team about a group of people who stripped off building material from the vacant Kliptown RDP houses in Soweto.
“A team was immediately dispatched to Kliptown Bagdad flea market and it was confirmed that the building material was stripped off the RDP houses. The material was then being sold to the public in the market. When the suspects were questioned about where they got the building material from‚ they became violent and threatened the team‚” Mashaba said.
“An operation was then set up by GFIS‚ the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and SAPS. The flea market was raided and building material belonging to the City was confiscated by JMPD.
“Not very far from the flea market is the Soweto Country Club where thieves stole 12 panels of clear view fence in December last year. On Friday‚ we arrested one suspect who is allegedly involved in the theft of the fence‚” Mashaba added.
Seven arrested for possession of alleged stolen City of Joburg property
Seven suspects were arrested by police at the Kliptown Bagdad flea market on Friday for being in possession of suspected stolen property belonging to the City of Johannesburg.
The suspects will appear in the Kliptown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba said that a concerned Joburg citizen had contacted the city’s Group Forensic and Investigation Service (GFIS) Department on Friday morning and informed the team about a group of people who stripped off building material from the vacant Kliptown RDP houses in Soweto.
“A team was immediately dispatched to Kliptown Bagdad flea market and it was confirmed that the building material was stripped off the RDP houses. The material was then being sold to the public in the market. When the suspects were questioned about where they got the building material from‚ they became violent and threatened the team‚” Mashaba said.
“An operation was then set up by GFIS‚ the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and SAPS. The flea market was raided and building material belonging to the City was confiscated by JMPD.
“Not very far from the flea market is the Soweto Country Club where thieves stole 12 panels of clear view fence in December last year. On Friday‚ we arrested one suspect who is allegedly involved in the theft of the fence‚” Mashaba added.