Well-known Barberton car collector robbed and scammed
The Barberton police spokesperson, Capt Jabu Ndubane, stressed that no police officer will request payment of any nature from a victim.
A stolen vehicle scam believed to be in operation throughout South Africa, targeted a local farmer and vintage car collector last week.
The scammers purportedly dupe victims of stolen cars into paying over money they lead the victims to believe will go towards towing costs.
Their modus operandi involves contacting victims and providing them with bank account numbers into which the cash must be deposited. Once this is done, there is no further communication as calls to their cellphones go unanswered.
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Adolf Laesecke, the former chairperson of Lowveld Old Wheels, experienced a rude awakening after one of the cars in his collection was stolen last Wednesday night.
The vehicle, a two-toned, plum red-andbeige 1954 Opel Kapitän, was stolen after thieves broke into his workshop and shed, making off with an extensive list of tools as well. The car’s registration number is CMY545 MP and it has a red-and-white imitation leather interior.
The avid vintage car restorer and collector reported the theft to Barberton Police Station the following day after circulating the incident on a WhatsApp security group.
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“My neighbour’s farm was also broken into and I must add that I am satisfied with the handling of this case by Barberton and Nelspruit police stations,” he said.
Laesecke said he had heard reports that the vehicle had been spotted between Rocky Drift and White River the following day.
“Subsequent reports from a police captain confirmed that the car had been found, along with two suspects. A Capt Sitabe, who I presume to be stationed at either the White River or Hazyview police station, informed me that the two men could not be arrested until I could positively identify the car as mine,” said Laesecke.
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He added that he was prepared to drive to Hazyview to collect the car before receiving another call from “Capt Sitabe”. He asked that Laesecke deposit R2 500 into a Capitec account.
The payment, which was made on Thursday afternoon, was ostensibly to covertowing costs to a company “Capt Sitabe” named as Nyana Towing. Laesecke duly complied and paid the amount.
To his surprise, the car was still not returned and further calls to “Capt Sitabe” failed to elicit more information. Attempts to contact him regarding the payment and the car failed as “Capt Sitabe’s” cellphone switched over to voicemail immediately.
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“I realised that this was a scam to get me to fork over the cash,” lamented Laesecke.
The head of communications at Capitec Bank said that, once fraudulent activity is suspected, the account is flagged and frozen.
He added that due to stringent privacy laws, the institution is unable to release any account holder information to the newspaper.
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“The relevant account was used for fraud prior to the incident described and was therefore stopped. The R2 500 is
still available for recovery.
“Legally, we cannot divulge any information regarding the account without the necessary legal processes. We suggest that the affected party opens a fraud case at their nearest police station. Capitec works daily with all law agencies to help in the combatting of fraud,” he concluded.
Barberton police spokesperson, Capt Jabu Ndubane, warned unsuspecting vehicle owners that there may be a
syndicate operating in the area.
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“If a car that has been stolen is recovered by the police, the State will carry the towing costs. Under no circumstances will the police ask a complainant to hand over money before releasing any stolen vehicle.
“When a car is recovered, it is taken to the vehicle identification unit in order for the police to check that the engine has not been tampered with,” said Ndubane.
Telephone calls to the White River and Hazyview police stations revealed that no “Capt Sitabe” was stationed there.
Laesecke’s car has still not been recovered and the case has been assigned to Sgt Mlambo of the Barberton Police Station. He can be reached on 013-758-1300.
