R100,000 worth of kayaks and trailer stolen from tourists in Mthatha

A group of Russian tourists was handed a raw deal when their trailer, laden with whitewater kayaks worth about R100,000, was stolen in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday.

Shane Raw, who was helping the group with information on where to kayak, told TimesLIVE on Wednesday the tourists had just finished kayaking on the Tsitsa river and had  loaded their kayaks on to a trailer and travelled to a nearby parking area close to the BT Ngebs Mall.

"Their trailer was removed from their vehicle. It seems they were not aware that they were meant to padlock the trailer to their vehicle,” Raw added.

On Thursday, he clarified that the driver had not parked within the mall precinct. 

“The vehicle was parked across the road close to one of the entrances of the mall. It was not parked in the mall’s parking," he said.

Raw said the stolen kayaks were extremely rare and were not sold in SA. They include a red Jackson Nirvana, a red Waka Gangsta, a turquoise, red and white Dagger Phantom and a lime green Zet Cross.

He took to Facebook to plead with the community of Mthatha to help the tourists find their kayaks. “I think the thieves were actually looking for the trailer and not the kayaks,” said Raw.

The tourists, who had been in SA specifically for whitewater kayaking, are returning to Russia on Thursday. Police spokesperson Col Sibongile Socci confirmed on Thursday that a case of theft had been opened at the Madeira police station.

“The investigation into the matter has been launched and leads are being followed.” No arrests had been made. Anyone with information can contact Colonel Thaynne Petzer on 082 410 7515 or Madeira SAPS 047 531 0305 or any nearest police station.

-This article was corrected on February 13 2020 to state the theft did not occur within the mall's parking area. We apologise for the error. We have also updated the article to reflect the police's comment in reaction to our queries.