Pretoria - A Free State businessman was kidnapped and robbed of more than R 12 000, by four men pretending to be police officers, police said on Friday.
According to Captain Stephen Thakeng, a 34-year-old self-employed man was at his residence on Tuesday in Kutloanong, Odendaalsrus, when a car stopped in front of his gate, with four occupants.
“He was talking to them behind a locked burglar gate and they told him there was a laptop stolen by him from a farm, where a white female was raped and stabbed. One of them took out an Appointment Certificate Card, with a photo of a police officer.
“He then opened the door and was told that he was under arrest for possession of stolen property. He was instructed to come with the bogus police officers to point out where he sold the laptop,” Thakeng said.
Thakeng said the men instructed the victim to take his ID and cellphone, before driving off with him to Wesselsbron.
“They parked beside the road, under a tree, and asked him to open his Capitec cellphone application to see how much he had in the account. The driver took the cellphone and transferred R12 700 to another person, deleted the transaction and gave the cellphone back to the victim.”
The suspects then drove back and dropped him in the Odendaalsrus CBD.
The victim went to Odendaalsrus Police Station, and a case of kidnapping and extortion was registered.
Should anyone have information leading to the arrests of these bogus police officers, they can call Detective Constable Ntesang Mokae on 069 196 1680 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
IOL