A Parkwood builder who allegedly carried out a heist of jewels worth more than R700 000 at his larney’s house in Durbanville will appear in court this morning after being busted over the weekend.
The 30-year-old dief was caught after more than a year when the homeowner sought the help of a family friend and former Anti-Gang Unit detective Chesron de Vries.
Speaking to the Daily Voice, De Vries says they uncovered a web of liegstories as the suspect started stuttering as soon as they were told that lie detector tests would be conducted on all building staff.
“This thing dates back to January 10, 2022 when they started working there,” he explains.
“My friend is busy building a moerse house in Oude Westhof near Durbanville where they are adding on to the house and constructing a whole lot of extensions.
“What happened is these guys started in January but the owner never realised this was going on.”
He says that over the Easter weekend, the homeowner and his family went to Durban and on their return noticed that his kwaai TAG Heuer watch worth thousands was missing.
“When they got back they noticed that initially the TAG Heuer watch, some jewellery and two cellphones worth only R300 000 was missing and he called me in.
“From the start, the suspect sommer started stuttering when I said we are going to do polygraph tests.
“But I know a boef because I used to work with boewe when I was in Saps. We told them that there would be no case as long as we get the stuff back but we opted to question them when no information came forward.
“While in the house he followed me around like he was very well-acquainted with the property and that is when I trekked him vas and he started telling me everything.”
De Vries says he took the skelm back to Parkwood where they recovered some of the jewellery.
“He lives in Willow Road and some of the stuff was found in the possession of his sister who still put all this expensive stuff in a boksie.
“There are still a large number of items outstanding including an 18-carat gold wedding set given by the owner to his wife on their wedding day.
“We are also trying to recover the TAG Heuer which is worth over R100 000, a titanium ring that has black emerald stones and other items.”
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg confirms the arrest: “This office can confirm that Durbanville police are investigating a theft case. The value of the goods that was stolen is about R700 000. We can also confirm that a 30-year-old male was arrested and will appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court [today].”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za