ALERT security officers at Windermere Centre apprehended an alleged conman at the centre last week.
According to centre management, security officer Mandla Ntuli noticed a man approaching shoppers and fleecing money from them.
Centre management said the man was seen approaching people one after the other on CCTV camera footage.
“The man was incredibly gregarious and chatty, and approached people as if he knew them. He talked to the people for a long time, giving them varying stories about him coming from Newcastle and needing money to get back, or that he needed money to pay his workers. The shoppers then gave the man money. On 7 January he managed to get around R600 within 20 minutes,” said a representative of centre management.
At the time, Ntuli noticed the man approaching shoppers and after observing him for a while, approached centre management to view CCTV footage.
A photo of the man was then printed and given to security.
On Monday 8 February, security officer Bafana Nkosi informed centre management that the man was back at the centre again.
“The man had approached a shopper and when her husband came up behind them, he told the man he had been approached by him in November last year with the same story. Once we had viewed this on CCTV camera, and positively identified him, we approached him and took him into the back passage, where he was handcuffed,” said the centre management representative.
She said the police were called, however management were told this was a civil matter, as the man had told the shoppers he would pay them back, and the cases would have to be heard in court.
“The public prosecutor also confirmed there was nothing we could do, so we had to let him go. He has been banned from our centre, and will be arrested for trespassing if he returns. I have emailed his details and photo to other shopping centres in the area, and urge shoppers to be aware of him,” she said.
