Westville North Trespasser Tracked Down, Chased and Detained

Property owners who have vacant homes are advised to upgrade security onsite to prevent the buildings becoming a target of vandals and trespassers during their absence.
This cautionary follows a copper-theft incident which occurred on Wednesday afternoon at an unoccupied house in Westville North.
“Thanks to an alert neighbour Blue Security’s control centre despatched a reaction officer after a panic activation and call-in was received. The neighbour had observed suspicious activity by an unknown number of suspects at the house next door,” said Blue Security community and media liaison officer, Andreas Mathios.
“The neighbour provided detailed descriptions of the suspects as well as the direction they had taken when fleeing. The intruders escaped after a warning shot was fired at them,” he said. “The reaction officer immediately began a patrol of the area in search of the suspects. One of the trespassers was spotted a short while later and after a short chase the reaction officer was successful in apprehending him,” he said.
“After permission was granted by the absent homeowner a thorough check was done on the premises. It was discovered that the gate and kitchen door had been forced open. The kitchen copper pipes had been ripped from the wall,” he said. Westville SAPS attended the scene. The uninjured suspect was taken into custody.
“If homes are left vacant or are unoccupied property owners are advised to ensure that security is upgraded or installed. Arrange for regular patrols by a security provider and for neighbours to keep an eye on the home,” he said. “Observant or opportunistic would-be criminals are quick to target such properties and homeowners need to be one step ahead,” he said.