A 40-year-old man who has been scamming and robbing senior citizens in the Verulam central business district has been arrested.
The Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) operations centre said that they had received multiple calls over the past week of a man approaching pensioners in the CBD and posing as a long-lost family friend.
“He would ask about the well-being of spouses, children, and other relatives convincing them that he knows one or more of these family members. During the conversation the suspect requests to borrow money
saying that his wife is delayed at the bank and he needs to pay a store closing for lunch,” said RUSA head, Prem Balram.
He said a 75-year-old woman was held at knife point when she realised that she was being scammed. “The suspect forced her into a white Toyota Conquest and taken to two ATMs to withdraw cash. When the withdrawal was declined, she was taken to a supermarket and forced to draw cash at the till point. The robbery was captured on camera. Reaction officers followed up on information regarding the robberies and located the white Toyota Conquest used in the robbery. After a brief observation officers surrounded the suspect’s residence in Westham Phoenix. When entering the premises the suspect could not be initially located until he was found in the bathroom ceiling, refusing to come down,” said Balram.
During the 30-minute stand-off between the suspect and the security officers, the suspect allegedly offered the security officers a bribe of R50 000 in cash for his release. The suspect was eventually arrested and taken into the custody of the Verulam SAPS.
Constable Bongiwe Ngcobo, communications officer at Verulam SAPS, confirmed the incident. She said: “The suspect was arrested on two charges which are robbery and kidnapping. He appeared at the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday where he was remanded for seven days for further investigation.”
Following his capture eight pensioners reported to RUSA headquarters alleging to have been victims of the opportunistic scammer and thief. All the victims are aged between 65 to 80 years old.
Reaction officers reported the matter to Verulam SAPS Vispol Commander Colonel S Strydom who assisted the complainants without delay and are investigating their reported incidents.
