Johannesburg - David Motsoane is serving a 15-year jail term for his involvement in the R42 million Post Office cyber heist.
In the Johannesburg High Court on Monday, Motsoane, who is a State witness, testified about his involvement in yet another syndicate that robbed the Post Office of just more than R2m.
In the dock were 12 people who worked for the Post Office, as tellers and branch managers, in several post offices around Gauteng. They are standing trial for 114 counts of theft, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
The syndicate lasted four years, with its main operation being run from the Bloemfontein Post Bank.
Motsoane alleged that he met first accused Isaac Ditlhakanyane late in 2009 through a friend.
Ditlhakanyane was looking for an agent who worked at the Post Bank in Bloemfontein, and Motsoane was roped in to try to find an employee from there, as he had previously been tasked with finding an employee from another bank.
His first meeting with the accused was when he came to Joburg with a friend from his hometown, Welkom. Thereafter, their meetings all took place at the Southgate Mall.
When asked by State prosecutor Willemien Vos whether he and accused No 1 ever exchanged numbers, Motsoane said it was protocol in the criminal field to use a middleman.
He told the court he was involved with the cyber heist at the time, but took part in this syndicate as it was not as complicated or security-ridden.
“You get the agent, you’ve got money in your pocket,” he said.
Motsoane then “started doing his homework” to find an agent or employee who would be willing to help the syndicate.
The employee was given a cellphone and sim card to use that would not be traced back to Motsoane.
The employee’s job was to alert them of any accounts that had large sums of money and forward the details of the account holder.
By late February 2010, Motsoane said an account holding R80 000 was identified.
He alerted accused No 1, who he alleges went on to organise an ID and a teller at the bank who would approve the transactions.
Motsoane said they would receive their share of the money from the accounts after accused No 1 either deposited it into a Shoprite account or a separate Post Bank account.
The trial continues.
The Star