Members of the Provincial Trace Team in Polokwane arrested a 37-year-old man who committed fraud worth thousands of rand.
- A 37-year-old man has been arrested after he was allegedly found with tainted cash and also defrauded a Limpopo woman of R200,000.
- Supposedly, the man had asked the woman to lend him money to buy chemicals to remove the black dye from money.
- He told the victim that he would pay him double if he helped him.
Limpopo police have arrested a 37-year-old man who allegedly conned a woman out of R200,000 and was also found in possession of money stained with black dye.
The man, who is from Uganda, had allegedly promised to pay the woman R200,000 back, but when she called and asked for another R400,000, the police intervened.
They set him up and was later arrested with the money the woman had given him and the stained money, the origin of which is still unknown.
Limpopo Police spokesman Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the defendant approached the woman, who works at the Department of Arts and Culture, and told her she was in possession of 2.5 million worth of banknotes. rand, which were stained with black dye.
Ledwaba said the man asked the woman to give him 200,000 rand in cash to buy a special substance to wash out the black dye, and that he would pay her 400,000 rand in return if she helped him.
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“The victim made a withdrawal of R200,000 and gave it to the suspect in the hope of acquiring more money.
“The suspect left the victim with [more] fraudulent money that was placed inside a safe to ensure he would return to pay the money back as agreed,” Ledwaba said.
The victim is understood to have become suspicious of the arrangement and reported the matter to the police, who immediately launched investigations and mounted a sting operation.
Malesa added:
On Friday, the suspect called the victim and asked for another R400,000 in cash, and she agreed to give him the money.
An intelligence-driven sting was executed and the suspect was subsequently arrested at his rental residence in Mahlasedi Park after receiving the money from the victim.
When arrested, the man was found in possession of counterfeit money and substances/chemicals allegedly used to wash the black dye stains. The victim’s remaining R161,000 in cash was also recovered, Malesela said.
The police discovered that the man was an undocumented migrant.
“Further police investigations revealed that the suspect was in the country illegally, and an additional charge of violation of Immigration Law was included at the time of his arrest.
Thousands of rand worth of money was discovered.
“The suspect will appear before the Polokwane Magistrate Court soon and will face charges of fraud, illegal immigration and possession of counterfeit money.”
Ledwaba said they were also investigating where the man got the soiled money.
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Provincial Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Thembi Hadebe said justice must prevail to remove “these kinds of people from society.”
“I appreciate the immediate response of the men and women in blue for the immediate arrest of the suspect, which could have escalated to other unsuspecting victims across the province,” Hadebe said.
