It went sofa: Have police finally found the famous blue couch?

The recent unrest in KZN was traumatic, to say the least.

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After these events, there was not a lot to be positive about. However, soon the communities started to come together, people were helping each other get back on their feet, and groups of people were taking to the streets to clean up.

Positivity was in the air again.

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While all of this was going on, a picture, featuring a couch from a looted furniture store in Springfield called Leather Gallery, started making the rounds.

This is how the couch was featured in their showroom and online:

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And this is the picture that quickly turned into a meme and it has made its way around the Internet ever since:

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While it all started off as a bit of lighthearted humour to help brighten darkened spirits, the story of this couch soon took on a life of its own.

The police had begun tracking down looters and the stolen goods while keeping citizens updated on their progress.

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Everyone was relieved to see that products were being recovered, but most people had one question on their minds: "Where is the blue sofa?"

The San Pablo couch, worth a massive R67,999, had seemingly disappeared into thin air and was nowhere to be found.

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But how could a bright blue, huge leather sofa just vanish? Mzansi needed to find out and so the real search began.

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Leather Gallery even had sponsored ads popping up on social media users' apps, like Facebook and Instagram, requesting that people contact them if they have any information with regards to the couch:

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Finally, after a few weeks of searching and serious detective work, it turns out that the couch had allegedly been tracked down!

According to a recent Facebook post, 'Pablo', as it has now affectionately been called, has been recovered and is being housed at the Sydenham Police Station:

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While we would all like to believe that the blue couch's journey has now come to an end, Leather Gallery has yet to confirm whether or not this is truly the case.

East Coast Radio has reached out to them and they have provided the following information:

"We were inundated with reports of the location of where our blue San Pablo Sofa that was looted from our Springfield showroom was, down to an almost exact location in Quarry Road. 

We were informed yesterday that our Leather Gallery San Pablo Leather Corner Couch had been repossessed by the South African Police Service and was being held at a secure facility with other looted goods that they had reclaimed. We have since gone to view the furniture that was been held and can confirm that our beloved blue San Pablo has been found."

But that's not all:

While the majority of our beloved San Pablo was found, we discovered that it had been dismembered and is still missing an armless piece. We are now offering a reward for actionable intel that can assist us with finding and recovering the missing piece of our blue San Pablo Corner Sofa. As such a famous sofa, we believe that it should be displayed in all its glory.

We will be opening our new flagship Leather Gallery warehouse in Queen Nandi Drive in the coming weeks. We think that there is no better way to celebrate this incredible next step for Leather Gallery as well as the return of our now-famous San Pablo Leather Corner Sofa. When we receive all of the missing parts, we will be fixing up the San Pablo and restoring it the best that we can in order to give it a special place in the magnificent showroom at our new warehouse. We invite the public to come and view the famous blue San Pablo and take a picture with it to share on social media, as well as browse through our luxurious furniture and décor range."

If you have any information regarding the Leather Gallery San Pablo Sofa you can contact them here

Main image courtesy of Feona Mohan/Facebook