Over P72 million worth of laptops stolen

NNASARETHA KGAMANYANE
Correspondent | Thursday January 19, 2012 00:00

The police intelligence indicates that there might be lucrative markets for laptops beyond the borders of Botswana. In the recent past the police intercepted 10 laptops at a checkpoint in a Zimbabwe bound bus and arrested two Zimbabwean men who are currently held in custody pending police investigations.

The South Central Division of Police which stretches from Ramotswa, Gaborone, to Serowe and other parts of the Central District has been the hardest hit, accounting for laptops valued at over P13 million, the statement reveals.

It says, in Gaborone most of the laptops are stolen from motor vehicles in parking lot at malls like Game City, Railpark, Riverwalk and Kagiso Centre malls. The University of Botswana Campus has also become a hunting ground for laptop thieves. Other laptops have also been stolen from residential homes, it adds. In the Police Northern Division, Francistown is the most affected area with locations such as Molapo, Satellite and Donga Extension being the main targets as thieves usually break into homes and rob occupants of their laptops especially during the night, the statement states. The South Central Division Headquarters at Broadhurst is appealing to any one who might have lost a laptop to come and look at some of the recovered laptops at their offices.

The Botswana Police Service however cautions the public to refrain from buying suspected stolen property as this perpetuates the escalation of crime. It also warns those bent on receiving or buying suspected stolen goods that this is an offense punishable by law.