18 Mar 2020

Police are investigating a Gaborone factory/scrap yard dealing in old batteries on suspicions of buying stolen ones.

Kutlwano Police’s Superintendent Neo Serumola revealed this in an interview with BOPA following numerous reports of vehicle battery theft in his area of jurisdiction. 

He said it had emerged that the stolen batteries were often sold to the Gaborone outfit.

 Superintendent Serumola however said investigations were still ongoing.The station commander said most of the batteries had been stolen from vehicles that had no alarm systems which made it easy for criminals to steal them. 

He said police had not made any headway in the cases because those who reported failed to identify and prove ownership. 

“When one fails to show proof that the battery belongs to them, there is no way they can recover it,” he said. He advised the public to mark their belongings for ease of identification in the event they got stolen.

  The move would also discourage thieves from stealing and reselling them, he said. 

On other issues, he lamented the increasing cases of house breakings and theft with most targeted valuables being flat screen television sets, laptops and smart phones. 

The public was advised to secure windows and doors, be alert to movements and sounds at night and to join neighborhood watch groups. Ends