A trio of alleged card-cloners now face 233 charges of fraud after withdrawing a cumulative R230 000 from various ATMs across Cape Town.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the three suspects, aged between 40 and 51, were first arrested back in 2013.
“The trio was initially arrested on 21 August 2013, after the Hawks investigation team seized numerous card cloning devices and counterfeit cards at various premises linked to the suspects. The case was later provisionally withdrawn against the suspects pending the ongoing investigation.
“A further investigation has allegedly linked the suspects to two hundred and thirty three (233) charges of fraud and about three hundred and thirty four (334) contraventions of the Electronic Communication Transaction (ETC) Act as well as contravention with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).”
Two of these alleged fraudulent transactions were traced to two separate petrol stations in Botswana while the rest of these were allegedly carried out at various ATMs in Cape Town, making a total cash withdrawal of R230 000.
The suspects have been rearrested and were served with summons on Thursday, August 28. They will appear at the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on October 7, 2020.
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