Vhahangwele Nemakonde
According to the group, the warehouse was raided by an armed group of men.
The Willowton Group has offered a reward of R100,000 for information on the theft of a “substantial quantity” of 2L Sunfoil cooking oil from one of their warehouses in Kempton Park in Johannesburg on Wednesday. According to the group, the warehouse was raided by an armed group of men.
“The Willowton Group requests the general public and trade to refrain from purchasing these stolen goods. A reward of R100,000 is being offered for any information that would lead to the successful apprehension of these perpetrators and the recovery of the stolen goods,” said the Willowton Group.The company is working with the police to track down the stolen goods using the known batch numbers.
The announcement has left South Africans speculating that the culprits could be those wanting to resell the products amid the rising prices.”Pointless, they will be sold to spaza shops and mini supermarkets, how will we know they are stolen? Accept the loss, go make an insurance claim,” commented Refentse Madiba on Facebook, while Wonder Mathenjwa wrote: “Maybe they should reduce the price of Cooking Oil so that they can be safe in their warehouse.”In July, data from vehicle-recovery and fleet-intelligence company Netstar on hijackings revealed that fuel tankers had become a target for hijackers in South Africa.“There are indications that fuel tankers are becoming a target,” said operations executive Charles Morgan. “In a recent case, a fuel tanker was hijacked by a criminal gang after midnight. The tanker was recovered and driver found unharmed.“Although Netstar has a high recovery rate, we are seeing a significant increase in incidents, and fleets and their cargo remain at risk. We recommend that operators of tanker fleets be extra vigilant and take all measures they can to protect their drivers and their vehicles.”READ MORE: Fuel tankers a target for hijackers amid rising petrol pricesCompiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde
