According to Colonel Anesh Maharaj, acting head of communications for the Douglasdale Police, the couple was first spotted in the Fourways area on New Year’s Day.
They used counterfeit money to purchase a tank of petrol at an Olivedale garage.
The petrol station had footage of the couple which showed they were driving a white Polo with a Kwa Zulu-Natal number plate.
The couple, which is comprised of a 24 year old woman and a 35 year old man, then met with a resident they had been in contact with via an online trading portal at the McDonalds on Witkoppen Road on 2 January.
They paid the resident for an electronic item using counterfeit money.
On 9 January at 8pm Diepsloot police were conducting a routine roadblock when they spotted the couple’s white Polo.
Warrant officer Daniel Mavimbela, head of communications for the Diepsloot police said police searched the vehicle and discovered R900 of counterfeit money.
Police took the couple into custody and then went to the guesthouse in Lanseria, where the couple had been staying.
They searched the couple’s room and discovered a further R14 000 of counterfeit money as well as the counterfeiting equipment which included laptops, printers, modems, ink and other chemicals. More fake notes were still on A5 and A4 printouts.
Maharaj said that there are currently two cases of theft and possession of counterfeit money open at the Douglasdale Police Station and another case of production and possession of counterfeit money open at the Diepsloot Police Station.
Mavimbela added that the couple would both appear in the Randburg Magistrates’ Court soon.
