Fake cash worth R6.6m found in Sunnyside

04/03/2015. Close to R7000 000 fake notes wich was found by Sunnyside Police Officers. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

04/03/2015. Close to R7000 000 fake notes wich was found by Sunnyside Police Officers. Picture: Oupa Mokoena

Published Mar 6, 2015

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Pretoria - Police this week arrested a Sunnyside man after finding R6.6 million in counterfeit money in his house.

According to police spokesman Warrant Officer Hero Gumbu, they received a tip-off on Wednesday alleging that there would be a drug deal happening at a block of flats in Sunnyside. “When our members got to the residence, they didn’t find anything and that’s when they proceeded to the garage to search and found a bulk of fake R100 and R200 notes,” Gumbu said.

The R100 notes amounted to R4.2m while the R200 notes amounted to R2.4m. The 32-year-old suspect will appear in the Hatfield Magistrate’s Court on charges of possession of counterfeit money soon.

Gumbu said it was not clear at this stage where the money would have been distributed to, or whether the man was working alone.

“At the moment, everything is still under investigation and we do not have knowledge as to what his intentions were with the counterfeit money,” he said.

Asked if the issue of counterfeit notes was problem, Gumbu said: “It’s a problem all over, not just in my cluster. But I can’t specifically pinpoint which areas are affected the most.”

However, the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) said it was a real problem and they received frequent reports of incidents.

Sarb spokesman Hlengani Mathebula encouraged the public to familiarise themselves with the security features of South African bank notes to avoid being swindled.

In January, a Joburg couple were arrested on charges of fraud and counterfeiting. Storm Britz and Tegwin Zeth Deacon were arrested after their reckless driving attracted the attention of police at a roadblock near Lanseria.

Police allegedly found R800 in notes which were suspicious when they searched the car. They found a further R14 000 in counterfeit money after they raided the couple’s Lanseria home, alongside a custom printer, ink cartridges and scanner, believed to be part of the operation.

Pretoria News

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