This South African drone pilot is a smash-and-grabber’s worst nightmare

A private drone operator in Cape Town known as “AJ” has helped local authorities arrest several suspects linked to a spate of smash-and-grab incidents along Malibongwe Drive by Dunoon.

The ex-policeman regularly sacrifices his free time to monitor known crime hotspots in the metro from the sky to identify and profile suspicious individuals.

While acting under his own rule for a few years now with a team of dedicated drone aficionados, AJ is intertwined with private security and the South African Police (SAPS) and passes on all the footage he captures to law enforcement who use it as evidence to bring criminals to justice.

A series of successes

AJ notifies the authorities when he will be flying his drone and is in constant contact with them whilst doing so, reporting crimes as and when they happen.

This has led to multiple successes in bringing criminals to book, most of which would probably not have happened if it wasn’t for the selfless drone pilot.

Recently, while scouting for criminals at a busy intersection, AJ identified a suspicious person moving through traffic wearing bright, luminous clothing in an attempt to appear as a jogger.

While being recorded, the suspect suddenly snatched a phone out of a motorist’s hand through their window and ran away. He hit two more vehicles over the following 15 minutes using the same modus operandi.

AJ sent the footage to his law enforcement contacts who were at the location the following morning to hunt for the criminal; they spotted him wearing the same clothes as the day before and subsequently threw him in handcuffs.

In the latest turn of events, AJ filmed a person wearing a red hoodie with an accomplice attacking several vehicles on Malibonge Drive within a span of five minutes before they nonchalantly walked back into the township side by side as if they had just gone to the shops:

As seen above, the drone can zoom incredibly close to the criminals, getting high-resolution images of their hallmark features that assist authorities in tracking them down.

After capturing the shocking sequence of events, AJ duly delivered the original footage to the SAPS which sniffed out the perpetrators and arrested them.

Since he started doing this a few years ago, AJ has seen a marked reduction in complaints of smash-and-grabs on roads he monitors, he told CapeTalk.

He also said he’s willing to testify against these individuals in court if it will help put them behind bars.

One thing leads to another

AJ notes that smash-and-grabbers are oftentimes involved in more serious crimes.

They are generally part of criminal syndicates and are regularly in and out of prison, which is where they are taught their thievery.

More often than not, he said these criminals carry weapons and drugs on their person while carrying out the heinous acts.

He said that the SAPS found an illegal firearm as well as a large quantity of drugs at the residence of the purported jogger who was arrested in his bright green athletic wear.

AJ’s valuable footage has therefore assisted the police in bringing to justice perpetrators who were identified in other crimes, and those who were planning to carry out more significant offences.

“The drone footage assists SAPS [and] people must be aware that they are being watched from the sky. The city has got their own large drone with operators, but you can’t be everywhere at the same time,” said AJ.

“It’s a matter of being at the right place at the right time, so we’ll just keep on.”