"So Wrong": SA Woman Confronts Phone Theft Syndicate at Grocery Store, Police Offer No Help

• A South African woman caught a three-person phone theft syndicate targeting her at a Food Lovers Market supermarket
• The thieves used her 3-year-old daughter as a distraction before snatching her phone in the yoghurt aisle
• CCTV footage from the store confirmed the syndicate's coordinated tactics, but the police's response left her stunned

A South African woman shared a chilling account of how a coordinated theft syndicate targeted her at a Food Lovers Market. They allegedly used her child as an unwitting distraction to get close enough to steal her phone.

The TikTok user posted the video on 3 November, recounting the incident directly to camera while CCTV footage from the store played in the background. She explained that the first sign came when one of the women stopped to play with her 3-year-old daughter after the child dropped a magazine. It seemed like a kind gesture at the time. Looking back, she believes that was the moment they identified her as a target. Her phone was in the pocket of her dress, and her attention was divided.

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The woman @tidi26221 described crossing paths with the same two women multiple times across different aisles before she grew suspicious. None of them had a trolley, only a few items each. When she paused to look for a yoghurt flavour, one of the women stayed uncomfortably close, mirroring her every move.

A moment later, as she turned her trolley around and bumped into another woman, one of them snatched her phone. She felt it immediately, turned around, and confronted the thief, pinning her against the fridge. The woman threw the phone down near the yoghurt shelves and bolted.

The store's camera operator had been watching the group the whole time. When she realised what had happened, she rushed to the exit to intercept the accomplices. All three women were caught and brought to the office. The third, who had blocked the aisle with her trolley, had not even been on the original woman's radar.

SAPS fail to help

The police took nearly two hours to arrive. When they did, their response was startling. Because the phone was back in her possession, they told her she could not be charged with theft. They also told her that attempted theft is not recognised in court, leaving her with no legal recourse at all. She asked them directly whether she was supposed to have left the phone on the floor and waited. They confirmed that only then could it have been treated as a stolen item. She walked away without charges being laid but captured a video of the trio. Watch the full account and CCTV footage on TikTok:

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Mzansi reacts to the phone theft ordeal

South Africans had strong feelings about both the syndicate and the police:

@MOSESMABIDS wrote:

"I'm a prosecutor and attempted theft is definitely recognised in our law, and possession after the fact doesn't negate the initial theft. I'm so sorry for what you went through. This is so wrong that you weren't assisted in this manner."

@Thandeka_Anne said:

"So the police are giving them more opportunity to steal more phones? Mxm this country."

@Boldly Owamie reacted:

"What do you mean attempted theft is not recognised?"

@Khali wrote:

"I hate SAPS yoh."

@Zoey said:

"First the police are not picking up. The SAPS is trying to kill us ne."

Other Briefly News stories about crime

• A young KwaZulu-Natal student (@tehillah_ngwane) shared an emotional cautionary tale detailing how an errand to the library near Midway Crossing Mall in Newlands West resulted in her and a friend losing their smartphones to a cunning street syndicate.
• Content creator @keomokgatle_ touched thousands of South Africans on TikTok after recounting the heartbreaking experience of being targeted and robbed of her entire monthly salary on payday.
• An Australian tourist sparked intense debate on TikTok after posting a scenic video of herself and a companion running along a road with Table Mountain visible in the background, contrasted with a text overlay revealing they were robbed at gunpoint moments after filming.

Source: Briefly News