Cargo thieves target hair extensions, wigs

Part of the goods come to Namibia too, but theft has derailed normal trade flow.

Namibia imports millions of dollars worth of hair from around the world. At the end of 2019, data from the World Integrated Trade Solutions show that imports from the global market was at US$97 700 (N$1,6 million).

About N$4,8 million of that came through South Africa.

The South African illicit trade market is primarily to blame for the increasing theft of wigs and hair extensions, Hollard Marine”;s senior business development manager Marika van Rhyn said.

Globally, the hair extension market is valued at around N$41 billion and is expected to grow to N$59 billion in 2028, at a rate of 5,3% per annum, market research house Fortune Business Insights states.

It said a growing fashion sense and aspiration for luxury by South African consumers, as well as consumers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are mainly fuelling the hair extension markets of the Middle East and some African regions.

Over the past four years, South Africa”;s hair extension imports jumped 64%.

“There has been such an increase in demand for hair extensions in South Africa that the theft of extensions is becoming more and more frequent. Once stolen, it is easily sold illegally and is very fast-moving,” she said.

Hollard itself has seen a rise of 37% over one year, for hair extension claims.

The thefts commonly occur at the ports, when the goods get offloaded after arrival, or in transit to their final destinations in hijacking incidents.

“We have certain hotspots in South Africa, distribution centres in the Johannesburg area specifically. So those are the more common incidents,” she said.

She said cargo travelling on the Johannesburg route mostly comes through the Durban port and signals that South Africa”;s illicit trade market for hair is largely concentrated in Johannesburg.

Hair extension theft has overtaken the theft of coal, which was previously regarded as “;black gold”;.

With the world slowly turning to green and renewable energy, the new most prized commodity has become hair extensions, mainly those imported from India and Brazil, Hollard said.

Van Ryhn said solar panels, which are also becoming more susceptible to theft and hijacking, have seen significant import growth, with South Africans seeking alternate power solutions to Eskom”;s unstable electricity supply.

“That is a commodity that gets imported more and more; the frequency is going up. And it”;s businesses as well as private clients; we have businesses that have to continue when they are offline,” she said.

*Additional reporting by Lazarus Amukeshe

– Business Insider SA

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