Wine thieves downed
2005-03-03
TWO very sober policemen downed burglars who thought they could get away with 20 bags of wine in Paarl East on Sunday evening.
Constables Shadrack Velem and Eddie Thorpe were in the charge office when they were alerted to a burglary at David’s bottle store across the road from the police station.
They ran around the store, just in time to see the two fugitives scaling a wall.
Const Velem, a weightlifter, dived onto one of the suspects while Const Thorpe, a martial arts expert, had little trouble in subdueing his charge.
The liquor was handed back to the thankful owner.
“The burglars had first tried to enter through the ceiling, and then they smashed through the re-inforced steel back door,” Renaldo Esau said.
“We have had many previous burglaries through the ceiling, and now that that route has been sealed, they came from the rear. That door is also now permanently sealed.”
Serious crime in the Paarl Valley dropped significantly at the weekend, due to “Operation Toxic Algae”.
“The nationwide operation, to stamp out lesser crimes like drunkeness and the dealing in and possession of drugs, is not only to clean up the area, it prevents serious crime,” police spokesmen said.
Police in Paarl and Paarl East made more than 100 arrests on Saturday and Sunday.
In Paarl East, police also took possession of an unlicenced firearm, large quantities of dagga and mandrax, 1667 litres of wine, cash, stolen clothing and cellular telephones.
Residents of Charleston Hill have been warned that children who knock on doors on the pretence of wanting bread, are actually scouting to break into homes.
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