I wanted to open spares shop – car parts thief says

A 24-YEAR-OLD man from Binga, who allegedly stole vehicle parts from residents residing in Bulawayo’s western suburbs with the hope of one day establishing a spares company, has been arrested in connection with the crime.

Langa Dube who resides in Rangemore suburb was arrested for the crimes, spanning a period of almost a year where he allegedly stole property worth US$10 000.

Dube was arrested by police detectives in connection with the theft of 15 vehicle tyres, 17 wheels, five batteries and two mirrors.

Police say he was working with an accomplice – Warren Luphahla who is still at large. Property worth only US$3 500 has been recovered.

“I started this with the intention of opening my company to sell motor spares by the end of the year and I was working alongside my friend Warren Luphahla.

“We intended to open our shop in Esigodini and eventually expand our business countrywide,” Dube said during an identification parade.

He was nabbed through collective efforts between police and members of the public.

According to Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube, the stolen items were positively identified by owners during an identification process.

Insp Ncube said 99 percent of the victims did not report their cases to the police after they were robbed.

“Only thirteen cases were reported to the police and when the suspect was apprehended we discovered that there were 12 cases that had not been reported. Police managed to locate the complainants, who confirmed instances of robbery,” he said.

“We are worried that such instances where victims do not report matters to the police fuel crime, we as police want to encourage members of the public to have confidence in the police because we have a zero tolerance to crime and we leave no stone unturned in the pursuit to bring all criminals to justice.”