Kadalie a victim of ‘signal jamming’

Ex-QDMS

(File photo) Rhoda Kadalie. Photo: Brenton Geach

Cape Town - Just days after the police announced their concern over incidents of signal jamming used to break into cars, Cape Town academic and head of the Impumelelo social innovation centre Rhoda Kadalie fell victim to the practice at the V&A Waterfront.

Kadalie said the incident occurred when she parked in the underground parking garage closest to Willoughby’s, where she was going to dinner.

Afterwards, she drove her dinner guest home to Sea Point, and then went home. It was only when she got home that Kadalie realised her laptop and a container full of loose change were missing.

“There were no signs of forced entry and I never left my car when I stopped in Sea Point, so I knew it must have happened at the Waterfront.”

Last week, while releasing the national crime statistics, police named signal jamming as the second most common method of breaking into cars in SA. Criminals press the button of a remote control operating on the same frequency as a car’s central locking remote, jamming the signal and preventing the car from locking.

After reporting the matter to the Waterfront police, Kadalie realised her car had been parked in front of a security camera. Kadalie said that after police viewed the footage, they identified the suspect and an arrest was made.

“But no one can tell me where my laptop is,” she said.

V&A Waterfront spokeswoman Carla White confirmed the incident, but said they hadn’t received reports of any similar reports. Police spokesman Captain Frederick Van Wyk said two suspects were arrested on Thursday and would appear in court on Monday.

Weekend Argus