A group of ATM scammers who targeted a German tourist over the weekend have been busted thanks to a collaboration between City of Cape Town law enforcement officers and the Central City Improvement District (CCID).
Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says the dramatic arrest saw the skelms crash into a CCID vehicle in their attempts to escape on Saturday.
Smith says a common modus operandi by the scammers are to dress up in fake uniforms and tell tourists that they need a permit to walk on certain streets in Cape Town and then demand payment by card.
He says as word spread about the German tourist who was scammed, information was quickly put out and members from the mayoral project and law enforcement responded along with the CCID.
Smith says: “The vehicle used in the getaway was quickly identified and a high-speed chase ensued, with the suspects knocking the CCID vehicle off the road. Eventually blocked in, all four suspects were arrested.
“The hired vehicle was driving with false number plates and inside officers found various keypads used for recording their victim’s ATM pin, a two-way security officer’s radio, clothing with security branding, a fake security officer’s ID card and numerous ATM cards.’’
The suspects were charged with theft, fraud, possession of stolen property, and reckless and negligent driving at Cape Town SAPS.
Smith says it was found that one of the suspects had been arrested three times in nine years for ATM-related crimes.
He says: “The suspect continued to find loopholes in the criminal justice system that always saw him continue, undeterred.”