A Surrey Estate man is devastated after he lost his new car and the R80 000 he spent on it in a car scam.
Antonio Thomas, 40, says he spotted the car in March 2021 on OLX.
Antonio says he took the car, a white 2014 Chevrolet Captiva, for a test drive and was satisfied.
But his joy was short-lived when two weeks later, he got a visit from Caledon police who accused him of fraud.
He says cops immediately confiscated the vehicle and all the documents and took it back to Caledon.
“The vehicle was advertised on OLX by a guy called Desmond David and we arranged on 25 March 2021 for me to view it at Howard Centre in Pinelands.
“Instead I got his brother, Dagvaal Ragedi, there as David had to work.
“I liked the car and made sure that all the papers were in order and paid R80K in cash,” he says.
Desmond said he had a huge loan at the bank and if I paid the money into his account, the bank would just take it.
“After two weeks, police from Caledon came to my house and told me that the owner of the vehicle reported it stolen.
“I explained that the seller told me he had to go for work to Iraq so that’s why he was selling the vehicle and he filled in the paperwork, the car was in his name.
“But he told the police that I stole the car because I never paid for it.
“The police left with the car ...”
He says when he tried to contact the Nigerian brothers, they blocked him.
“I was frustrated, so I opened a case at Manenberg Police Station but there has been no progress.”
Antonio says the debacle has affected his livelihood.
“I’ve been driving school children and I used to take my family to places and do shopping, things I can’t do any more,” he says.
“I want to find these people and get my money back.
“I am unemployed and sold my car to buy this one.”
Police spokesperson, Captain FC Van Wyk, confirms both cases: “A fraud case was registered at Manenberg SAPS on 8 April 2021.
“In Caledon, a fraud case was registered on 1 April 2021 and is under investigation.”
When the Daily Voice called the brothers on the cell numbers provided, both phones went straight to voicemail.
If you have information about the sellers, call Antonio at 061 383 7808.