Cape Town - A conman took a motorbike for a test drive and never returned - but he left his picture with the owner.
The suspect approached Kyle Hallick, 21, after spotting an advert on Gumtree for a 1998 Honda RVF400 for sale at R28 000.
The man, who identified himself as Donovan, asked Hallick if he could visit him and take the bike for a test drive on Monday night.
Hallick said he was fine with the man taking the bike because he left his ID - as well as his girlfriend - with him.
But when he didn’t return with the bike, the girlfriend ran away and Hallick discovered that the ID had been tampered with and belonged to someone else.
However, the thief had inserted a photograph of himself in the booklet.
Hallick explained how he was duped after posting an ad online.
“He called me when he saw my other bike which I advertised two weeks before. I told him I had already sold it but I had a blue one which is the same model.
“He said if he liked it he would give me a deposit of R10 000 and then give me the rest of the money on Friday.
“I told him to first come [see me] then we can work out the payment.”
The 21-year-old said the suspect arrived at his Penhill, Eerste River, home at 9.30pm on Monday.
“He kept telling me he was in meetings the whole day,” Hallick said.
“He eventually arrived in a shuttle and there was a woman who was sitting in the backseat. He looked trustworthy and he spoke so well.”
Hallick said the well-built man came with a helmet and balaclava, prepared for a bike ride.
“He handed me his ID and then got on the bike.
“When he left, I noticed the woman in the back was texting and that was about the time when I couldn’t hear the bike anymore as he drove off.”
Hallick said that after about 20 minutes the shuttle driver got anxious and decided to go and look for the man.
But minutes later the driver called Hallick to say something was wrong.
“He called me and told me I had been conned. He told me the woman jumped out of the car when he was stationary at the stop street,” he said.
“I have informed the police and I put it out on Facebook that my bike was stolen,” Hallick said.
“I eventually got hold of the real owner of the ID book and he says it was stolen in June.”
Police said they were investigating a theft.
Daily Voice