Family posing as customers steal Cartier watch
Image: Supplied
A LUXURY jewellery boutique in Bryanston, Johannesburg, was robbed by a seemingly ordinary family dressed in traditional attire and posing as customers.
Thanks to social media, the stolen R150 000 Cartier watch was returned.
The female, dressed in an abaya (a full-length outer garment worn by some Muslim women) and a head scarf was caught red-handed on CCTV cameras stealing the Cartier watch.
The owners of Love Maison 33 - a family run business - shared the footage on social media.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Thirty minutes later, the suspects called the store and said they were 'sorry'.
They then sent two minors to return the watch.
In the video, which has been circulating on social media, two women are seen seated inside the store, in front of an array of designer watches, picking the ones they liked.
A man is seen standing behind them.
In a split second, the woman dressed in the black abaya quickly snatched the Cartier watch when the sales assistants turned their backs. The woman concealed the watch in her abaya and then between her legs.
The crime went unnoticed by the sales assistant as he continued to have a conversation with them without any suspicion.
Zayan Latib, the owner of the store, said she had never experienced a crime like this before.
Latib had personally helped these customers. She said they requested to only see watches, which she found odd but kept the thought to herself.
'A family of 5, including a young girl came in posing as customers and asked to see a couple of watches. Based on how they were dressed, I was skeptical but didn't think too deep into it.
'They took their time browsing through the expensive watches that we showed them. One of the women requested the price of a different item. I turned my head for a split second and the same woman grabbed a watch and hid it between her legs.'
She said that she had not noticed anything until it was too late and that specific watch was not tagged.
'She stole a Cartier watch valued at R150 000. She had told us she was from Dubai. We only realised what had happened after they left the store, when they began running. They had a getaway driver waiting for them.
'We were robbed by what looked like a quiet, unassuming family, people we never imagined would do something like this. It wasn't a violent crime, which made it even more shocking. I felt blindsided and confused. You don't expect something so calculated from people who seem so ordinary,' said Latib.
She said she was shocked when the designer watch was returned.
'Thankfully, the stolen goods was recovered very quickly. We have since made significant improvements to our security to ensure this never happens again.'
Yusuf Abramjee, anti-crime activist, had posted the video on social media, which prompted the return of the watch.
'Within 30 minutes of posting the video, the suspects called the store and said they were 'sorry'. They then sent minors to return the expensive watch.
'This syndicate is allegedly involved in a number of similar thefts. They work fast and use distraction and sweet talk, acting as buyers,' said Abramjee.
He said people should always be vigilant as one should not always expect everyone to have good intentions as syndicates of similar nature have been on the rise.
Latib said no case had been opened against the thieves.
THE POST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
Lights, camera… cut as local TV fears fading out
Veteran actor and chairperson of the South African Guild of Actors, Jack Devnarain, voices concern over the Canal+ and MultiChoice merger during the Competition Tribunal hearings, warning that local creatives - particularly actors - risk being sidelined in an already unregulated industry. Image: Supplied Local creatives fear being sidelined as French media giant Canal+ moves to merge with MultiChoice - a deal that could reshape South Africa's TV industry and put local jobs and content at risk. Actors, filmmakers and industry bodies say the deal lacks clear guarantees for local content production, fair pay, and intellectual property rights, warning that without regulation, foreign control could come at the cost of local voices. The Competition Commission Tribunal hearing this week, will focus on public interest clauses of the merger, especially around commitments to support local content creators and historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs). Regulators and commissioners sought to understand how local content creators and HPDs will be supported under the merged entity. Canal+ and MultiChoice had committed to obligations to continue procuring goods and services from a diverse group of beneficiaries, including HDP firms, small and medium enterprises (SMMEs), and South African content creators. Concerns were raised during Thursday's hearing on whether the wording under Clause 7 of the merger conditions was explicit enough to assure beneficiaries - particularly local content producers - that they are covered under the commitments. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The Competition Tribunal panel also queried Canal+ and Multichoice on the basis for monetary commitments related to local content procurement and HDP participation. However, specific amounts set for this by the merging parties remain confidential, although they explained that these figures were derived from historical and projected expenditure data covering a three-year period. They said they had made financial commitments to reflect average spend based on past and future spending to ensure that support for local content and HDP firms is maintained - not diminished - after the merger. 'To be clear, these are not additional or new commitments - they are meant to safeguard ongoing procurement activity, especially given that there was no certainty these would continue if the merger didn't proceed,' explained the merging parties.' These commitments are part of a broader set of public interest conditions tied to the merger, designed to ensure that local economic development, transformation, and content diversity are not compromised by foreign control of one of Africa's largest media platforms. However Jack Devnarain, veteran actor and chairperson of the South African Guild of Actors, said they didn't have any expectations of Canal+ which was here to 'play the game' in an unregulated industry, which he believes was a 'huge attraction' for them. 'From the actor's point of view, we are always suspicious of mergers such as this because typically, given that we are in an unregulated industry, it means that actors are the last to get any benefit whatsoever from the transaction. 'We are the last to have our rights protected in any way, and we are deeply concerned that while all this content is going to find a new home, that actors are going to be left without new opportunities for work.' Devnarain said that Ideally they would like to engage with Canal+ on various issues like a new contractual agreement in which they can secure commercial exploitation fees in contract, and even if old content is re-versioned and dubbed, that actors will receive some residual income. 'We're not optimistic about that at all, simply because we know Africa, African content, African filmmakers and broadcasters are typically the ones to be exploited when it comes to the arrival of the European or American broadcasters or streamers. The Global North has always sought opportunities to exploit the content opportunities emanating from the Global South and Africa has always been ripe because we are incredibly diverse in our linguistic content, in the cultural content and in the incredible locations that we have.' Devnarain described it as a new form of colonisation where international conglomerates and corporate players from the Global North find wonderful opportunities in the Global South, and again exploit the talent that comes out of South Africa and Africa, without compensating them. The merger between Multichoice and Canal+ will be subject to a restructuring exercise under to ring-fence MultiChoice's licensed broadcasting entity, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd. This unit will be hived off into a standalone company, LicenseCo in line with local regulatory requirements. After settlement of the merger, the combined group will have no interest or control in LicenseCo. However, details of the this carve-out structure for LicenseCo remain confidential. LicenceCo will be majority-owned by previously disadvantaged and black economic empowerment companies, with MultiChoice Group holding a 49% interest. Canal+ has however previously said that it was still engaging with Phuthima Nathi which has been earmarked to hold a 27% interest in LicenceCo although the board has already given its support for the transaction. Black-owned and managed companies, Identity Partners Itai Consortium and Afrifund Consortium, have also been roped into LicenceCo, bringing 'highly experienced leaders' with 'great commercial and industry' knowledge. Regulators are expected to consider these clarifications as they finalize their decision on whether the merger may proceed under South Africa's competition and public interest laws. The merger awaits final regulatory and competition approvals. Denvnarain said they are concerned that work that was already produced would be dubbed and sold to new markets and the actors not compensated for it. 'Because those rights didn't exist under the MNet or KYKNet agreements, we don't expect that Canal+ is going to come into South Africa and acknowledge rights that our own South African broadcaster refused to give us. So, we don't see the upside as actors unless we are creating new content for the new owners under a new contractual regime where we are able to secure commercial exploitation rights. 'And again, it's unheard of to secure commercial exploitation rights in a contract if your industry itself is an unregulated industry.'
IOL News
7 hours ago
- IOL News
‘Let the spirit of Mandela fight for us' : Homeless ex-convict calls for unity on Mandela Day
Former inmate Sphesihle Mshezi at Mandela Day event in Johannesburg, calling for unity and compassion in South Africa A homeless Soweto man, 49, who spent 20 years in prison for theft, robbery and housebreaking, has called on the spirit of former President Nelson Mandela to help fight for a better South Africa. 'Let the spirit of Mandela fight for us,' said Sphesihle Mshezi, of Zola, Soweto. 'I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to those helping the needy and vulnerable around the world.' Mshezi made the remarks on Friday during Nelson Mandela Day commemorations at the Tshepo Community Development facilities in Northcliff, Johannesburg. Mandela Day is observed annually on July 18, encouraging people around the world to dedicate 67 minutes of their time to community service. Mandela, who was the South African Black President and global political icon, was born July 18, 1918. He died December 5, 2013, following a prolonged respiratory infection. Mandela spent 27 years in prison after being convicted of conspiring to overthrow the apartheid government. He was released on February 11, 1990.
IOL News
9 hours ago
- IOL News
Exploring mixed reactions to the Freedom From Poverty Bill: A new approach to replacing BEE and employment equity
The Institute of Race Relations has introduced a new Bill that seeks to replace the Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity. Pictured is Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth. Image: GCIS The Freedom From Poverty Bill, introduced by the Institution of Race Relations (IRR) as a replacement for the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and the Employment Equity Act (EEA), has been met with mixed views. Under the bill, there is Economic Empowerment for the Disadvantaged (EED), which is codified as an alternative to BEE and a proposal for true transformation, as it will be based on need, not race. It was launched this week as part of the #WhatSACanBe campaign in a webinar discussion between IRR Head of Policy, Dr Anthea Jeffery, and IRR Strategic Engagements Manager, Makone Maja. The BEE aims to correct past inequalities and is governed by the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act. Its application is limited to people who are black, of mixed race, and Indian, and excludes white people, including those with disabilities. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Explaining the difference between the two policies, Jeffery said the BEE uses race as a proxy for disadvantage, EED targets the poor, and identifies disadvantage based on a means test. 'This would enable poor whites to benefit too, but 99% of its benefits would in practice go to poor black people. Its non-racial focus would reduce racial divisions, put an end to race classification, and comply with the Constitution's founding value of non-racialism. 'The EED is voluntary, which means companies would no longer be required to keep the current BEE scorecard to aid them in state procurement contracts, or race-based ownership deals, management posts, and procurement contracts. EED's scorecard incentivises companies for their key contributions to the economy by rewarding them with EED points for these actions. With EED, the points cannot be redeemed to gain from preferential procurement,' Jeffery said. She added that EED introduces education and health voucher-based support for poor people to be used at schools or health facilities of their choice. This, she said, will redirect much of the revenue now spent on dysfunctional schools, hospitals, and housing developments into tax-funded vouchers for low-income families. The bill states that a system of tax-funded vouchers must be created and administered by provincial administrations, with the help of public-private partnerships where necessary, and it will go hand in hand with social grants. An emphasis was made that this will not take away social grants. 'In the instance of schools, the voucher will go with the child to the school of the family's choice. The vouchers will fund teachers' salaries, study materials, maintaining the school grounds, and more. Parents can remove their children from poor-performing schools and take the vouchers with them. This will engender competition and incentivise excellence at all levels of the supply-side of education and raise due diligence on the demand-side. The health vouchers will operate the same way,' Jeffery said. Maja said ending fake transformation, which only enriches those at the very top, is critical to truly changing South Africa's economy. 'True transformation would move the needle on the numbers of unemployment, economic growth, and the rates of poverty and decline of state services and infrastructure. All of which have either stagnated or, in some instances, worsened since the advent of fake transformation,' said Maja. Dr Rowena Bernard, a senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Law, said the proposed EED excludes racial criteria and any form of racial classification as a basis for empowerment. She added that it emphasises merit, skills, objective criteria, and measurable socio-economic disadvantage, and no EED measure may rely on demographic representativity, racial criteria, racial targets or quotas, or any form of classification by race. The focus of the BEE is on redistribution instead of growth. It is based on racial classification and preference, which goes against the founding principles of the Constitution. The BEE tends to benefit only a small elite of South Africans; unfortunately, the vast majority of black South Africans still receive limited benefits from the policy. South Africa's progress in reducing poverty and inequality, and improving socio-economic rights has been relatively slow, Bernard said. 'The BEE overlooks contributions made by the private sector in terms of upward mobility by investing, employing, innovating, and paying taxes. According to the BEE policy, businesses are to be measured according to a scorecard to determine their compliance level. The elements in the generic scorecard relate to ownership, which measures the economic interest, voting rights, and net value of shares held by black people. 'Management control assesses the number of executive boards, senior, middle, and junior management positions held by black members in a business. Skills development focuses on skills development initiatives and training for black employees.' Under the EED, existing race-based contracts or empowerment schemes will be reviewed within 18 months and may also be terminated by a court or tribunal if they are tainted by inflated pricing, corruption, undue influence, or other damaging or unlawful conduct. She added that the EED proposes the introduction of a voucher system in the three critical areas of education, housing, and health, affecting the lives of the vast majority of South Africans. 'This proposed voucher system will be available to all South Africans and will not be based on any racial criteria. A means test will be used to determine an individual's eligibility for the voucher. 'This means that people earning below the threshold would be granted education vouchers, up to a certain amount; this voucher would then be used at the school of their choice. This would be done by redirecting the education budget. This system would give children from lower-income families the right to make their own educational choice. This would also have an effect on failing state schools, which many children have to attend because they have little other choice. This allows for better choices and better education opportunities,' she said. Bernard added that the vouchers would work similarly for housing and healthcare, as people would no longer have to solely rely on government services. 'Access to the vouchers would enable people to improve their living conditions, not rely on the inferior, low-cost houses built and provided by the South African government. They will be able to use the voucher to either build better quality homes or rent proper homes. It is envisioned that it will reduce homelessness, housing instability, and overcrowding. Health vouchers will increase access to healthcare. People will no longer have to rely on free public health care treatment, which will increase access to better quality health care,' she said. The EED, she said, brings in a new perspective to address the real challenges all South Africans experience regardless of their race. It provides realistic options to empower and uplift those who are disadvantaged. Bernard said the bill may have serious consequences for employment laws. 'Affirmative action measures and policies will also be affected as employers will not be able to introduce preferential policies that result in racial preferencing. All employees will have equal opportunities in relation to promotions and fair labour practices. All employees will have equal opportunities to receive training and skills development,' she said. She added that it may result in financial strain and capacity issues as employers will be expected to review and change existing employment policies and practices. There may be an increase in employee grievances concerning unfair discrimination claims, which will lead to a strain on the resources of the employer and the court system. 'The EED Bill will certainly benefit the majority of black employees, but the proposed non-racial approach would reaffirm the Constitution's founding values of equality and human dignity,' she said. However, Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the IRR is using non-racialism to block transformation. 'The issue of transformation is not debatable, because it comes from the Constitution. The preamble of the Constitution talks about the transformation, which is a historical appreciation. So, we can't have nation-building and social cohesion without transformation. 'We can't be united when the rugby national team is playing, but when it comes to other issues, we don't want to talk about them. It looks like some people want to preserve their privileges. In my opinion, people are not being honest, because if you look at poverty and unemployment, those social cleavages have a colour,' Breakfast said. He added that the BEE has not achieved its intended objective, but that doesn't mean that transformation must take a back seat. 'We need to call out people who are pushing back from transformation, while at the same time talking about social cohesion and nation-building. Unemployment, inequality, and poverty still indicate that race is an issue. How do you transcend racial categorisation but still have these issues along racial lines? If this bill goes to Parliament, it won't be adopted by the majority. I don't think this policy is proposed in good faith. I find it very suspicious,' he said.
