Alleged black dollar suspect arrested in Berea
The Hawks would like to urge anyone who has fallen victim to this crime to contact them.
HAWKS officers from Durban Commercial Crime Unit arrested a man for fraud on 21 August in the Berea area.
According to Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo from provincial SAPS, the suspect allegedly befriended a man on 11 August and contacted him to ask to meet him opposite the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“The suspect informed the man that there was a flight that was on its way from DRC and it was carrying computers as well as money. He informed the victim that he needed to pay R5 000 to customs, which the man did,” said Mhlongo.
On Monday, 13 August the suspect contacted the man again and asked him to meet him in Durban. He informed the man that he needed R26 000 more to release the package from the flight from customs.
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“The man paid him the money in cash and then allegedly met with the suspect again, this time at the man’s office. The suspect had in his possession a box containing a gadget, which he then plugged into an electrical socket and fed apparent fake bank notes into the gadget, which reportedly turned into what seemed like real banknotes amounting to approximately R1 700,” said Mhlongo.
The suspect informed the man that he could make more genuine money by converting the fake notes but he needed R230 000 more for airtime.
“The victim then contacted the police for assistance and the suspect was arrested. He appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 22 August and he was remanded in custody. The case was postponed,” he said.
The Hawks would like to urge anyone who has fallen victim to this crime to contact Captain Ajith Jaganath on 071 481 2631.
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