Johannesburg - Two women have been robbed of thousands of rand by two men at the Jabulani mall in Soweto, Gauteng police said on Wednesday.
A 45-year-old woman was shopping at the mall on Wednesday morning when a man smeared a powder on her hand which he claimed would affect her memory and thinking, Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.
The woman was then approached by another man who claimed to be a police officer and who offered to help her catch the other man.
The bogus officer, who was not in police uniform, chased and caught the man and put him in an unmarked car, which he claimed was a police vehicle.
The woman agreed to accompany them to the local police station, Makhubela said.
On the way, the “officer” advised her to withdraw all her money to prevent it from disappearing.
She agreed and withdrew R10 000 from her bank account. The men took the money and left her near the mall.
A 30-year-old woman was robbed of R1 700 at the mall on Tuesday by two men using a similar modus operandi.
“The community should not be fooled by people pretending to be the police, and they should be on the lookout for men trying to rob them using such a method,” Makhubela said.
No arrests had been made and two cases of theft had been opened. - Sapa