THE male domestic worker who stole $75 000 (R850 000) of his Somerset Park employer’s money was going to be a millionaire and open his own business in his native Mozambique. That’s according to Durban North SAPS who arrested a 28-year-old as he tried to make a daring dash for Johannesburg in a taxi at the weekend.
Iahaia Cassimo Iassien, was arrested at the N3 Wilge Toll Plaza, near the Free State, just after midnight on Saturday by detective warrant officer Gordon Pillay and private investigator Sean Pierce (Coast to Coast Special Investigations).
He was found in possession of a duffle bag with his passport, a box of teabags, Cremora coffee creamer, soaps and a newly purchased DVD player. Initially when questioned, Iassien denied any involvement in the theft saying he was going back home to celebrate the end of Ramadaan. However, he later admitted that he had stashed the money in the DVD player.
“He had dismantled all the components and placed the money in neat rows covering the width and length of the DVD player,” explained Lt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the station.
Iassien had used just $300 to buy a few supplies for the trip.
“He said his plan was to go back to Mozambique and start his own business. He would have had 2.2-million metical. He admitted he stole the large sum after overhearing a conversation about where the money was stashed in the house.
“He later went into the master bedroom ostensibly to fold clothes. He saw the envelope and decided to escape with the cash,” Deokaran said.
He added informants had led the Durban North field unit in the search for Iassien to Kwandengezi, where his girlfriend lived. However, he was tipped off by locals in the area and decided to take a taxi south.
“Initially we didn’t know what mode of transport he was using only that he was going to Johannesburg. We set up two major roadblocks at the Mooi River and Wilge Toll Plaza. We searched every vehicle that passed through the toll and eventually found him nestled in the back of one of the taxis,” he said.
The 28-year-old was denied bail and has been remanded into custody at the Westville Prison and the money was returned to the Somerset Park businessman.
