Bladiniere chicken thief caught on CCTV, Chinese store robbed five times

August 26, 2025 9:52 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Hilaire Bule.

A mother and landlord at Bladiniere has called on the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) to continue patrolling the streets in an effort to reduce stealing and trespassing.

The mother, who chose not to reveal her name for security reasons, said she lost her rooster in the early hours of Sunday.

She said the thief entered her yard through the gate and stole the rooster while the family was still asleep.

“When I woke up, I realised my rooster was not at the door waiting to be fed as it usually does every morning. I started searching and found feathers at the entrance of my yard. I followed the feathers to the main road near the Chinese shop, Mojo Store, where I found more feathers. I knew Mojo Store had CCTV cameras, so I asked the owner to help me check the recording. We were surprised to see the thief walking with my rooster, emptying a carton used for rubbish, and putting the rooster inside to hide it,” she said.

Yesterday, the Daily Post visited Mojo Store to view the CCTV footage. The video showed the thief on the shop’s veranda around 1:30am on Sunday. The shop owner also told the Daily Post that his store has already been robbed five times by groups of youths.

He said the most recent robbery was last week and showed another video in which a group of young boys entered the shop during the day and stole cans of beef.

The mother said that during the recent police operation to remove unemployed youth from the streets of Port Vila, Bladiniere was peaceful, but now these youths have returned to the area.

“The government promised to build not just a police post but a police station at Bladiniere Estate to address criminal activities, and we are still waiting,” she said. “We know the police post at the airport is also responsible for Bladiniere, but the government must understand this is the biggest subdivision on Efate and we need constant patrols.”

Vendors at Marobe Market also pointed out the regular presence of young boys around the market.

“They sit near the water tank all day smoking. They are not working,” a vendor said.

Graffiti has appeared on the water tank and walls around the market.

Police confirmed yesterday they are aware of the return of unruly youth to certain streets in Port Vila and said patrols were expected to resume last night.