A library and a hall in the Buffalo City Metro have been broken into in separate incidents this week.
In the latest incident, thieves targeted the Gompo Library, reportedly escaping with two computers, a Wi-Fi router and an undisclosed amount of money.
The burglary is believed to have taken place in the early hours of Wednesday.
The thieves are reported to have gained access to a back room of the library by breaking through an emergency door.
Anti-crime activist and Eastern Cape Community Policing Forum provincial secretary Ludumo Salman said he was notified of the incident at about 2am.
One of the computers was later found near the library, suggesting the thieves could not carry away all the stolen goods.
“They [thieves] broke through the emergency door and tore down the burglar gates; that is how they gained entry,” Salman said.
They [thieves] broke through the emergency door and tore down the burglar gates; that is how they gained entry
— Ludumo Salman,Anti-crime activist and Eastern Cape Community Policing Forum provincial secretary
“I was called by those at the library because of my being a crime activist; I then called the police.
“The matter is still under investigation, but we are also relying on the information from the public, who can tell us if there are any people who are selling items similar to the ones which were stolen.”
The break-in comes at a critical time, as schools have just opened for the new academic year.
The incident followed a break-in at the Braelyn hall, which is believed to have taken place overnight on Tuesday.
Salman said no equipment or stock appeared to have been stolen.
However, he said the intruders had vandalised the premises, causing extensive damage.
“It seemed like they [intruders] were on an agenda that nobody knew about.
“It was more a destruction; they destroyed sinks and toilets. They were breaking anything,” Salman said.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said a security guard at the premises found damaged fibre cables lying on the ground on Wednesday morning.
Nothing else had been stolen.
Mawisa said it had not been established how the suspects gained entrance to the hall.
“A case of malicious damage to property has been opened at the Duncan Village SAPS and the investigation is under way.”
BCM spokesperson Bongani Fuzile had not replied to questions by the time of publication.
Daily Dispatch
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