AFTER a lengthy investigation, the Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, under the command of Colonel Makhosazane Ntulie, arrested a vehicle finance fraud syndicate comprised of 14 suspects aged between 24 years and 58 years and recovered a total of 15 vehicles valued at about R15-million.
The recovered vehicles have been handed over to the bank. Among the vehicles recovered during the police operations on Monday, was a Toyota Hilux double cab which had been stolen in the central Durban area on Friday. The suspects will appear in the Durban Magistrates’ Court on charges of fraud.
According to police, during 2017 and 2018, about 20 cases of motor finance applications which had been validated and approved by a bank employee, were detected to be fraudulent. The modus operandi of the fraudsters was to approach unemployed people and people who were desperate for money in order to get copies of their Identity Documents, conduct credit checks and process applications.
The installments were not made to the bank and some of the vehicles were sold without the consent of the bank.
Charges of fraud were opened at police stations including Mayville, Point, Greenwood Park and Durban Central SAPS.
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