Witness describes R33m Arthur Kaplan jewellery heist in court

It was a jewellery heist with the precision of a Swiss timepiece — smooth, swift and costly.

In just 24 hours, a small group of accomplices is alleged to have stolen more than R33m in luxury timepieces and fine jewellery from one of South Africa’s most exclusive retailers — at a time when the company was under the control of court-appointed liquidators. 

Two years after the brazen heist, the trial of four people charged with carrying out one of South Africa's most audacious jewellery thefts began this week at the specialised commercial crimes court in Palm Ridge, Ekurhuleni.

The stolen goods have not been recovered.

The loot included a glittering haul of gold and diamonds as well as Hublot, Rolex and other luxury watches. They were snatched from Arthur Kaplan Jewellers stores in Sandton City’s Diamond Walk, Eastgate Mall, Nelson Mandela Square and the company’s head office between May 31 and June 1 2023. 

At the centre of the case is former Arthur Kaplan director Hoosein Mohamed, who the state believes orchestrated the thefts aided by his then personal assistant, Ammaarah Ismail, 24. Ismail went on the run after the heist and was arrested in Cape Town in April last year.

The diminutive Ismail is the only accused in custody, having lost her bail bid after the court found she was a flight risk. Their alleged accomplices are Ismail's brother, Azhur Ismail, and Ridhwaan Mansur. Another accused was removed from the case and will be charged in another Arthur Kaplan jewellery theft in Durban. 

Prosecutor Adele Carstens told the court the state would show how the four raided multiple branches of Arthur Kaplan Jewellers, a once elite luxury jeweller that was in final liquidation and under the control of liquidators Laila Motala and Gladys Ngobeni. Motala is the complainant in the trial.

The start of the trial on Wednesday was slightly delayed by the belated appearance in court of Ismail, who eventually arrived from prison with purple streaks in her hair, manicured nails and a cellphone in her hand, which she quickly shoved into her pocket when called to stand in the dock. 

All four accused are facing five charges of theft. They have all pleaded not guilty.

According to the charge sheet, the first heist happened on the evening of May 31 2023, when jewellery and watches worth R12.67m were stolen from the World's Finest Watches store, owned by Arthur Kaplan Jewellers, in Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City.

The following morning, 13 Hublot watches valued at R3.2m were taken from the Arthur Kaplan store in Diamond Walk, Sandton City. Later that day watches and jewellery worth R5.2m were taken from the same store.

That afternoon, watches and jewellery valued at R3.9m were taken from the company’s head office at The Atrium on 5th in Sandton City. 

In the final heist, watches and jewellery worth R8.2m were removed from the Arthur Kaplan store in Eastgate shopping mall in the late afternoon.

The state's first witness, Hassim Bhorat, was employed as a sales assistant at Arthur Kaplan. He told the court he had applied for the job after seeing it advertised by Ismail on social media. He knew her from school, was interviewed by her and given the position less than two months before the heist happened. 

Video surveillance footage capturing the alleged thefts was then shown in court. Bhorat confirmed the footage matched with his memory of what had happened on the days in question. 

He told the court how on May 31 he had been at World’s Finest Watches when he received a call from Ismail asking him to stay late that evening. She later arrived at the store and the two of them took watches from the display units and put them into pouches. 

Bhorat said he was on duty again the next day at the head office when, at about 3pm, two representatives from Rolex arrived to fetch some watches, and that he was instructed to pack up any remaining watches, as he had done the previous day. 

He said he had wrapped the watches in cloth and put them into bags, and then followed instructions to accompany Ismail and another employee. They went outside and handed the watches over to a man in a white bakkie, whom he identified as Mohamed.

Bhorat said Mohamed then organised for a driver to pick him up and take him to the Eastgate store so that he could do the same packing up of jewellery as he had done at World’s Finest Watches. This was because they had been told the store was going to be raided. 

He arrived at the Eastgate store where he met with Ismail's brother, Azhur, and his own brother, Hoosein Bhorat. The men, he said, used to go to gym together and both worked for Mohamed at one of his other businesses. 

Working together, they took items selected by Azhur and packed the jewellery into a large box. At one point something was dropped, activating smoke alarms, and a security guard was seen entering the store to inquire what was happening. 

He said they loaded the stock into the boot of a BMW, which Azhur drove to the Ismail family’s home in Bramley. He said the jewellery remained in the boot while they greeted a woman he believed to be Ismail's mother. He and his brother were then dropped off at their home. 

Bhorat told the court he had discussed the events with his parents when he got home and they decided that he would not return to his job at Arthur Kaplan the next day. He said he had never been back to the store and had no knowledge of any legal actions or liquidation at the time of the heist. 

Magistrate Phindi Keswa adjourned the hearing to next month.