CAPE TOWN – Police in Cape Town have arrested six people alleged to be part of a fraud syndicate.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Western Cape provincial police spokesperson Colonel André Traut said police management have praised the members of the Special Operations Team attached to Operational Response Service for their effort, vigilance and tenacity to break the back of the syndicate.
Traut said officers were conducting patrols in Mitchells Plain on Monday when they noticed a Toyota Avanza and Toyota light duty vehicle.
The vehicles were stopped and searched and officers discovered 49 South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards hidden in a chocolate box in the Avanza.
“It was evident that the occupants of the two vehicles were in cahoots and their interrogation led the members to an address in Elbow Gardens in Rugby, where a further 191 Sassa cards were seized.
“The four male suspects, aged 18, 33, 45 and 56, were arrested and further interrogated, as it was clear that they were heading somewhere with the cards before being apprehended,” Traut said.
He said further information led officers to a residence in the Bo-Kaap area in Cape Town.
Upon raiding the home, officers confiscated 427 bank cards of various financial institutions.
Traut said a 56-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were arrested.
“While the suspects are awaiting their fate in a court of law for the possession of possible stolen property and for contravening the Electronic Transactions Act (No 25 of 2002), detectives are hard at work to probe the circumstances surrounding the arrests to ensure a successful prosecution and to determine if more arrests are possible.
“Many vulnerable people who are solely dependent on social grants are targeted by ruthless criminals with no regard for others, and this is one of the reasons that will make us dig deep to root out this syndicate and apprehend whoever is part of this criminal circle,” Traut said.
African News Agency