Petty Crime South Africa
Petty Crime South Africa is a comedic podcast that parodies true crime shows by focusing on minor, everyday crimes in South Africa. Host Phil de Lange, who calls himself a semi-amateur investigative savant, speaks with ordinary South Africans about incidents that caused them at least seven hours of inconvenience. Each episode unpacks a victim's story and tries to solve these absurdly petty acts.
Episodes
The horticultural heist - Part 1: An interview with a criminal
Phil sat down with a hardened criminal in the horticultural underworld. For the first time in South Africa's on Petty Crime investigative podcast, we talk to a person responsible for committing heinous acts of inconvenience on unsuspecting victims. We do not condone any actions depicted in this 2 part episode.
The size 22 shoe catch 22
While we try to keep feet related content down to a minimum, Phil finds himself dealing with another horrific crime involving the theft of shoes. The owner of said shoes is Sean, and he recounts the tale of how one Houdini brazenly spoke to him mere days after stealing from Sean's car.
The scammer and the cursed Xbox
Online scams have increased by over 300% over the last 4 years in South Africa. In this episode of South Africa's most important true crime podcast Phil talks to Francis who was one of the many victims of being scammed by a fake SMS notification. But much like a scam, not everything is as it appears to be.
The curse of the Hannah Montana double CD
What happens when you are the most unlucky cellphone owner in South Africa? You call Phil to investigate. But in one of his most riveting cases yet, Phil finds himself at the end of an investigation that could mean trying to break a curse that started in a high school in Namibia. A curse that involves a Hannah Montana CD.
The knicker knicker and the spark plug bandit
Sometimes criminals don't win. In this episode of South Africa's most important investigative podcast, we hear about a panty thief who created his own downfall and a smash and grab criminal who couldn't outrun a victim. Please note that in some cases identities have been changed to protect us from legal action.
The parole papers and the turd in Makhanda
For the first time, we bring you an episode with a story so heinous that an actor needed to be hired to portray the role of the victim. Join Phil as he uncovers a world of parole paper wielding hackers and outlandish poop bandits.
Three siblings, two phones, and one money laundering racket
In this episode Phil set out to find out about a dodgy family member of Sa'eed who had apparently stolen two cellphones from his siblings. During the investigation Phil happened to uncover what is probably the biggest online gaming money laundering racket of our time.
Fashion police, poisonous gas, and wiper blade syndicates
It seems the South African car remains the hotspot for petty crime in South Africa. Today we meet a victim who experienced so much inconvenience that she needed help in uncovering syndicates involving the fashion police after blaming her husband for crimes that almost got committed.
Hate crimes and piracy deep dives
For the first time an apparent 'victim' reveals herself to be a possible criminal. We invite a previous guest back to the Petty Crime help desk as we dive further into the world of music theft and piracy. We also speak to the victim of a possible hate crime who reveals himself to be something of a sleuth himself.
Taxidermy, art, and anarchy
For the first time in his career as the world's best petty crime sleuth, Phil hones his skills of telepathy to assist someone in solving a crime. In yet another dark turn, we find ourselves exploring the interconnected underworld of vandalism, mansplaining, and taxidermy.
The environmental vigilante and the shampoo bottle
Fatima Zahra wanted an early start to her day but had her plans derailed when she couldn't find her shampoo. Little did she know that this would trigger a series of events taking her and Phil down a path of property invasion and theft. But things aren't as they seem and we could be dealing with something more than a common thief...
The psychopath and the light shroud
There are 11 million vehicles on South African roads. Phil delves into the dark underbelly of criminality of people who mutilate working cars for insignificant parts. He encounters a underworld of danger and theft in his most challenging case yet.
Mo's Left Shoe
Mo, an accounting student from Durban, faced the most difficult test of his life: leaving Mosque with one shoe. In his most difficult case yet, professional in amateur forensics Phil de Lange tries to track the footsteps of a thief who had the audacity to steal a single shoe at a place of worship.
The search for Agnes the Cactus
Phil puts his expert skills of investigation to the test to try help Sa'eed find his beloved cactus. An underworld of party drugs, unrealistically long spikes and horticultural heists awaits Phil in this gripping episode of South Africa's best true crime podcast.
The Rearview Mirror
Amateur sleuth, Phil de Lange takes on the curious cold case of Maxine Peters, who has been effected by the pettiest of petty crimes: a car being broken into and valuables or stuff that isn't that valuable, being taken in the cold of night. If you have been a victim of petty crime, please contact us with your story.
