Off-duty Benoni Flying Squad officer helps nab counterfeiter
Two safes were found in a room the suspect was renting.
An off-duty Benoni Flying Squad (BFS) member arrested a suspect and recovered counterfeit money with an estimated value of R3.7m, on December 5.
According to Warrant Officer Grant Giblin, communication officer for BFS, Constable Ras Erasmus was off duty when he was contacted by a private security person at around 11:00 that day. This person needed the constable’s assistance at a fast food outlet in Brooklyn, Pretoria, where a suspect attempted to commit fraud with counterfeit money.
“Constable Erasmus immediately responded to the scene in his own vehicle. Upon arrival, the suspect was pointed out to him. A search led to the discovery of an expired passport, a Yale safe key and R12 600 in counterfeit R200 notes.
“The suspect was arrested and Erasmus contacted Brooklyn SAPS for assistance to further investigate.
“The investigation took him and members of Brooklyn SAPS to a guest house in Olivier Street, Brooklyn. The suspect showed them the room he was renting, where the members found two safes on the floor,” said Giblin.
“The Yale key found on the suspect unlocked one of the safes, in which officers found 20 sealed packets of uncut sheets of counterfeit $100 bills, estimated to amount to $200 000 (about R3 457 710.00).
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“The second safe was unlocked and inside were nine sealed packets of uncut sheets of counterfeit R100 bills and nine packets containing R200 bills, estimated at R270 000.
“A 5l container with a chemical substance used for the process of processing counterfeit money was also recovered.
The suspect and all exhibits were taken for processing at Brooklyn SAPS.
Investigation continues, as to the suspect’s status in the country.
The suspect, aged 45, will be appearing in the local magistrate’s court facing charges of possession of and manufacturing counterfeit money.
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