CAP gives blow-by-blow on Glenhazel devices

Members of CAP heaved a sigh of relief last Wednesday, 29 October, when it became clear after many hours of work that our community wasn’t in danger on 24 October, when two suspicious devices were found in a suburban street in Johannesburg. 

Sean Jammy, the deputy chief executive of CAP, said that after the incident on 24 October, when two suspicious devices were found on Summerway Road, Glenhazel, CAP teams activated the organisation’s investigative infrastructure, including extensive CCTV analysis and intelligence tools so that they could track down who placed the devices and their intention. 

“On the afternoon of 24 October, we treated it as a very suspicious object, and it became quite clear soon afterwards that it wasn’t an improvised explosive device, and therefore, it brought into question what the intention was. The actual components and makeup of the device have obviously been sent for testing, and we’ll have the results of that, which will be definitive in hopefully not too many weeks,” CAP chief executive Mark van Jaarsveld said on ChaiFM this week. 

Jammy told the SA Jewish Report that the devices were “believed to be the internal components of an old model of a specialised commercial battery. CAP located a reseller who confirmed, from photographic comparison, that the recovered objects matched the internal elements of one of their discontinued product ranges.” 

However, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is continuing its investigation and forensic testing. CAP and CSO continue to assist authorities until a conclusive determination is made. 

Through this, CAP was able to determine that it was a waste picker who routinely comes in and out of Glenhazel who had placed the two objects at the bottom of a tree as he couldn’t sell them. 

“By reviewing and enhancing footage from multiple properties, investigators pieced together a detailed timeline of the individual’s movements throughout the suburb, ultimately identifying and tracing him,” said Jammy. 

CAP was able to confirm that the recycler entered the suburb at 05:00, and left at 14:00 on the afternoon of 24 October. Most of his activity was along the normal recycling routes that one would expect, and his trolley got bigger and bigger as the day progressed and he sorted through things. 

The recycler told CAP and the police that he had picked up the two devices on 23 October near a scrapyard in a public space while on his way to sell his daily recyclables. 

“He believed the items to be specialised batteries with potential resale value. He described them as ‘four or six cylinders taped together, with an electronic board and wiring’, and said he had no reason to believe they were dangerous,” said Jammy. 

This recycler tried to sell the devices intact. When unsuccessful, “he broke open the outer casing and tried to sell the internal components at another scrapyard, again without success”, said Jammy. 

So, the recycler kept his devices in his trolley and started on his route for the next day, where he would go around Glenhazel and Highlands North. 

“His trolley had become unstable while full, prompting him to stop near the tree on Summerway Road to repack,” said Jammy. “He still had the internal components of a specialised battery that he had been unable to sell the previous day. Given the difficulty in selling the items and their weight, he discarded them at the base of the tree. There’s no evidence of any intent to target or cause alarm.” 

Jammy said that the CAP teams were able to locate this recycler using enhanced imagery, which was circulated to field teams and local informants. Areas known to be frequented by him were searched. Intelligence later indicated that he had left Johannesburg temporarily, but returned the following week. On Wednesday, 29 October 2025, CAP and SAPS located him on 6th Avenue, Highlands North, while collecting recyclables. He was subsequently taken in for questioning. 

The story of the recycler was confirmed as “video footage shows the same individual placing the objects at the scene. This was corroborated by additional footage, supporting information, and his own statement to the SAPS, in which he admitted to doing so,” said Jammy. 

“His account aligned with time-stamped CCTV footage and other corroborating evidence. He identified the scrapyards where he had attempted to sell the objects, and the location where he broke open the casing. Investigators recovered fragments of the casing, including a serial number and manufacturer markings, which were handed over to the SAPS together with formal statements. A statement was also obtained from an independent third party, who confirmed that the recycler had attempted to sell the items at their scrapyard and that they witnessed him breaking open the casing in an effort to separate the materials.”