A woman and four men accused of kidnapping and robbery were denied bail by the Pretoria magistrate’s court on Tuesday.

Pretoria West police spokesperson, Constable Sibongile Vuma said the four men allegedly used the woman to lure male victims into thinking they were meeting a potential girlfriend.

“They paid between R300 and R400. They have an online dating app and they use a picture of a woman to attract their clients.

“The woman will give her fake dating history like she was married and now divorced or she was in an abusive relationship. Victims will then show interest and the woman will then arrange for a meeting.”

Vuma said the woman will then make excuses about going to her house as she will claim there is someone there. The victims would be told to come back at night.

“The latest victim was told exactly this. He was taken to a place where they would be able to spend time together. Immediately when they got inside the room of that house, the men attacked him.

“They tied him up, took his car keys, bank cards and forced him to give them his PINs. They managed to withdraw R6 000 before letting him go.”

Vuma said the victim reported the incident to the police and offered that his brother be used as bait to catch the criminals.

“He said he did not want this to happen to another person. The police devised a trap in which the brother acted as if he was interested in dating. The same arrangement was made like it was with his brother.

“Police were following them the whole time. When they entered the same house, all the suspects were found in the house,” Vuma said.

She said the suspects were arrested and were denied bail when they appeared at the Pretoria magistrate’s court.

“The court wanted to verify their status in the country and they are expected to make their second appearance on January 17.”

Vuma warned community members to refrain from online dating apps or websites.

“A lot can happen to you, so I would not advise people to rely on this online dating apps.”

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