Brazen thieves posing as potential buyers have stolen a car from a Sanctuary Lakes woman who was selling the vehicle to help pay for her mother-in-law’s medical care.
Samira said she put a post on Gumtree advertising her white Mercedes ML.
On Saturday, July 3, just after 8.20pm, a woman – who had contacted her expressing interest in the car – visited Samira’s home in Tournament Drive, ostensibly to inspect the vehicle.
Samira said she thought nothing of it when the woman, along with her male companion, asked to hop into the car and turn on the engine to see how it ran.
But as Samira stood beside the car, holding her two-year-old daughter, the woman locked the vehicle’s doors and drove away.
Samira said she had trouble believing the “sheer audacity” of the thieves.
“I was in a bit of shock,” Samira said. “When I called police, I was in tears.”
Samira said that in putting the car up for sale she had hoped to raise money to put towards the care of her mother-in-law, who has dementia and lives in Cape Town. Samira said that medical care for people with dementia could be “quite expensive” in South Africa, so the family had also started a GoFundMe page.
“I really just want my car back so I can sell it,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking. I also want other people to know that this kind of thing can happen right in front of their eyes.”
Samira said that when the car was stolen, its number plates read ICD 3PU.
She described the woman who stole the car as having a sling on her left arm and long blonde hair.
To donate: gofundme.com/help-maurreen-get-assisted-caring
Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
