If proof was needed that the ban on alcohol during Levels 4 and 5 of the lockdown was the spur for desperate action, this is it.
Thieves tunnelled through concrete into a Johannesburg liquor store during lockdown and stole R300 000 in whisky, brandy, gin, ciders, vodka and beer.
Shoprite said the theft from the Shoprite LiquorShop in Newtown Junction took place during lockdown levels 4 and 5, when the sale of alcohol was prohibited.
The manager discovered the theft, and a large hole in the floor, when she entered the store on Friday 29 May. She was returning to prepare for the store’s reopening under level 3 on Monday.
‘With alcohol in high demand during the lockdown, the store was secured from the outside throughout. The suspects avoided the mall’s main entrance and instead used electrical and storm water tunnels beneath the shopping centre to gain access to an area beneath the store. They then tunnelled through the solid concrete floor directly into the shop,’ according to Shoprite
No one knows how the thieves knew where to tunnel to or how long it took them to get through the thick concrete floor, but they returned a few times to steal a large amount of stock.
The suspects were first recorded on CCTV cameras on 21 May, ten days before liquor sales were allowed. Footage from inside the store shows three suspects, although more may have remained in the tunnel to help move the liquor.
A R50 000 reward, ‘subject to terms and conditions’, has been posted for information which leads to a successful arrest.