The 31 August episode of Carte Blanche exposes a disturbing new crime trend sweeping supermarkets and parking lots, where brazen criminal crews are turning petty theft into grand-scale carjacking.
What begins as simple pickpocketing quickly escalates into vehicle theft, with suspects snatching car keys from unsuspecting shoppers before making off with their vehicles.
Operating with precision, speed, and near invisibility, these syndicates reportedly feed the booming stolen car market by flipping vehicles for profit. Investigators say the gangs deliberately target smaller shopping centres, where identifying and stealing a victim’s car in the parking lot is far easier.
Its first episode aired on 21 August 1988 and over the last 34-plus years has earned credibility among South African viewers for its investigation into corruption, consumer issues, and current events.
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