MBOMBELA – More and more unsuspecting Lowvelders are falling prey to a con artist who is luring them to the Highveld with promises of business opportunities.
However, as they drive to eMalahleni with the hopes of closing the deal, they are robbed and have to return back home empty-handed.
The infamous “Gerhard” has tricked at least five Lowvelders. The modus operandi is always the same. Gerhard phones businessmen and asks to meet with them in eMalahleni.
On their way there, Gerhard phones again, explaining that he cannot be at the agreed-upon location, but that he would send a colleague to meet with them. This colleague, who may well be Gerhard himself, then gets into the vehicle with them and instructs them to drive to a warehouse where the man then robs them of their personal belongings.
A local man who constructs swimming pools was the latest victim. He wishes to remain anonymous for fear of his safety.
Gerhard called him on Monday and said that he resided in White River and had recently bought a guest house in eMalahleni.
He told the victim that the pool on the property needed refurbishment. He was adamant that he was familiar with the victim’s business and didn’t want to make use of anyone else.
The victim told Gerhard that he wouldn’t do any business without a deposit of R2 000. Gerhard agreed and the victim left the city in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
As in previous cases, Gerhard told him he would not be able to meet him at the filling station they agreed upon, and that a colleague would meet him instead and show him the location of the guest house.
His colleague, who was previously introduced to other victims as Tommy, told him that they first had to go to a warehouse to fetch the money for the deposit.
“This is where I began to get suspicious. The area seemed potentially dangerous, and as we arrived I was immediately vigilant,” he said.
The suspect then asked if he could borrow his phone to contact Gerhard to inform him that he was at the warehouse, after which he walked away with the victim’s phone.
As soon as he tried to ask the suspect where he was going, a vehicle with four occupants arrived after which the victim sped off.
“I am glad that I managed to stay calm, otherwise my life would’ve been in danger,” he said. “This guy knows what he is doing and locals must be very vigilant,” he warned.
• In May this year, Mr Johan Olckers was the first case that Lowvelder reported on. He was asked to replace 40 blinds, also at a guest house, as the most recent victim. Other similarities to the latest case included Gerhard’s insistence to make use of Olckers’ services as his business had a good reputation.
After arriving at the filling station, Gerhard suddenly couldn’t meet with Olckers and sent someone else to take him to the guest house. Upon arriving at presumably the same warehouse as the latest victim, he got robbed of an empty wallet and his sunglasses.
“The suspect even allowed me to take my driver’s licence out of the wallet before taking it. Although I was threatened with a knife, he wasn’t aggressive at all,” Olckers recalled.
• Mr Jurgens Broodryk was caught in the same trap earlier this month, also by Gerhard, to give a quote on new windows to be installed at the guest house. He drove to eMalahleni and was told that Gerhard’s colleague would meet him.
Broodryk was taken to the same warehouse where his valuables were stolen. Like in Olckers’ case, Gerhard seemed so trustworthy that Broodryk couldn’t believe what they were doing.
• Just last week, Mr Dennis Horn fell into the same trap. However, Horn installs gearboxes and was summoned to eMalahleni to fetch gearboxes for repairs. He too was directed to the warehouse, but thanks to a colleague who became suspicious after reading one of Lowvelder’s reports, he never went to the warehouse. It was clear that Horn was being followed because as soon as he turned back to Mbombela, he received a threatening phone call that he “would be burnt”.
• Mr Eddie van Rensburg fell prey to the same scheme, although the suspects introduced themselves as Pedros and Sakkie respectively. They were aggressive during this instance as they stabbed Van Rensburg with a screwdriver while attempting to rob him. Van Rensburg managed to fend off the attackers.
More about these Witbank scam victims here
Capt Eddie Hall, spokesman of eMalahleni SAPS, said no cases had been registered to this effect. He however urged victims to report similar incidents.
