A security camera recently recorded a suspected thief stealing an electric scooter in Havana, Cuba. The footage was shared on social media in an effort to identify the individual involved. Although the crime seems to have been carried out by two people, the camera only captured one person tampering with the front wheel to remove a lock and take the scooter from where it was parked.
The scooter was parked on the sidewalk outside an unidentified residence, seemingly lacking adequate anti-theft measures. "Stolen scooter from a friend... Here are the faces of these thieves... Any information, please send a private message," wrote a user in the Facebook group 'Murasaki POWER'.
Community Reaction and Security Concerns
In the comments section, one user suggested the scooter owner had practically "given it away" due to insufficient security features that could have deterred the thief. "Apparently no alarm, no additional lock... Maybe just a simple lock, which the guy managed to disable. At night, that scooter parked on the street... You can't trust anyone, something similar happened to me in a hallway... After that incident, I installed an alarm, lock, and GPS so if anything happens, I can react immediately and retrieve the scooter without giving them time to disable anything," the user shared.
This comment was addressed by the alleged owner, Carlos Manuel Sánchez Rodríguez, who expressed regret. "Brother, you're right, I was caught off guard, and I didn't have enough resources to secure it properly. I only had a lock on the front wheel, and yet, they managed to take it," he lamented.
Rising Incidents of Electric Scooter Thefts
In mid-November, alarms were raised in Holguín due to a spike in thefts and frauds linked to electric scooter sales. This crime wave has surged in Cuba, where the number of these vehicles has risen significantly following the authorization of their sale and importation amidst the country's transportation crisis.
To avoid falling victim to such crimes, Marian Pérez Rodríguez shared her own experience on Facebook. According to her account, she is from Las Tunas, and found a buyer in Holguín who requested they travel there for the purchase. Once they arrived, the man asked to test the scooter with her seated behind him. When she got off, he sped away, and they never saw the scooter or the thief, who had provided false information and address.
"Don't trust anyone, even if they say they're an interested buyer and show you their ID. It's very hard when everything is already so difficult, to have your hard-earned property stolen," she cautioned.
Around the same time, suspected thieves of an electric scooter in Diez de Octubre, Havana, were captured by residential security cameras in the area. The vehicle's owner also posted the footage on social media, hoping to locate the culprits.