Residents living in and around Nahoon Mouth’s Logan Drive were rattled by the appearance of multi-coloured ribbons tied around poles and trees outside their homes on Saturday.
They are concerned the red, green, yellow and blue fabric could have been “markings” left by criminals to target homes for burglaries or other crimes.
One resident dubbed the episode as “the mystery of the bandanna crooks”.
Harewood Drive retiree Maureen Sellers said she had been taking a walk with her two-year-old granddaughter on Saturday when she spotted the ribbons.
“I first saw a blue ribbon on a tree and then as I walked I saw another blue one and then an orange, green and yellow one and thought they did not look like Christmas decorations.”
Her suspicions aroused, Sellers retraced her steps to write down the street numbers of the homes and noticed that their owners appeared to be away on holiday.
“My first reaction was that the houses were going to get hit, because I have read Facebook posts about criminals marking houses with crosses, bottles and cans, so I immediately got onto our community WhatsApp group and asked if anyone could explain the material.”
A Logan Drive resident who asked not to be named, said he had seen eight trees and poles bedecked with the colourful fabric.
“The residents of all eight homes that were marked were away at the time so this could be a less sophisticated form of messaging to indicate that people are away. We took all of them down. It’s like a real Jessica Fletcher mystery.”
Broubart Security director André “Bulla” Wood said that while the colourful ribbons could have been “innocent declarations of festive season fun”, his company, which patrols Logan Drive and surrounds, treated them in a serious light.
“We have learnt over the years that if anything is out of place, we must question it and this was a big question mark, so we jumped in and sponsored additional patrols in the area to be on the safe side. People were in a bit of a panic about it.”
Nahoon resident Craig Tessendorf said the ribbons could not be ignored.
“There is too much crime in the area not to be concerned and we are definitely taking them seriously.”
Police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said police could not speculate about the ribbons.
“We would urge residents not to panic. We are working around the clock to make sure they are safe.
Ribbons raise fears of crime
They are concerned the red, green, yellow and blue fabric could have been “markings” left by criminals to target homes for burglaries or other crimes.
One resident dubbed the episode as “the mystery of the bandanna crooks”.
Harewood Drive retiree Maureen Sellers said she had been taking a walk with her two-year-old granddaughter on Saturday when she spotted the ribbons.
“I first saw a blue ribbon on a tree and then as I walked I saw another blue one and then an orange, green and yellow one and thought they did not look like Christmas decorations.”
Her suspicions aroused, Sellers retraced her steps to write down the street numbers of the homes and noticed that their owners appeared to be away on holiday.
“My first reaction was that the houses were going to get hit, because I have read Facebook posts about criminals marking houses with crosses, bottles and cans, so I immediately got onto our community WhatsApp group and asked if anyone could explain the material.”
A Logan Drive resident who asked not to be named, said he had seen eight trees and poles bedecked with the colourful fabric.
“The residents of all eight homes that were marked were away at the time so this could be a less sophisticated form of messaging to indicate that people are away. We took all of them down. It’s like a real Jessica Fletcher mystery.”
Broubart Security director André “Bulla” Wood said that while the colourful ribbons could have been “innocent declarations of festive season fun”, his company, which patrols Logan Drive and surrounds, treated them in a serious light.
“We have learnt over the years that if anything is out of place, we must question it and this was a big question mark, so we jumped in and sponsored additional patrols in the area to be on the safe side. People were in a bit of a panic about it.”
Nahoon resident Craig Tessendorf said the ribbons could not be ignored.
“There is too much crime in the area not to be concerned and we are definitely taking them seriously.”
Police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said police could not speculate about the ribbons.
“We would urge residents not to panic. We are working around the clock to make sure they are safe.
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