Pretoria east social club members robbed as they share festive spoils

The Mamelodi police have again urged residents to be extra cautious when handling large amounts of cash during the festive season, Rekord East reports.

This follows an incident on Tuesday, where members of a social club were robbed of more than R10 000 in cash in Mamelodi West.

The three members were about to share their hard-earned money when four people, including a woman, stormed into their house and took the money.

According to the victims, the robbery took place around 10:00 after they had earlier withdrawn money and were about to share it.

The woman suspect was first to enter the house, pretending to be lost and looking for directions. She was followed by the three men who stormed the house.

One of the male suspects threatened the three members of the club saying they were aware that the members have withdrawn money from the bank and they should hand all of it over or else they would be harmed.

Fearing for their lives, the members said they gave the suspects the money and the suspect locked the victims in a backyard room before fleeing the scene.

Police spokesperson Captain Johannes Maheso said the police are investigating a house robbery case and have not yet made any arrest.

“It is the responsibility of the members to make sure that money is transferred into their different accounts. But the police are working tirelessly on the case,” said Maheso.

The police advised clubs to transfer money into members’ different bank accounts instead of withdrawing large amounts to share at home to avoid falling victim to criminals.

Robberies are a particular concern during the festive season.

Maheso also said several cases in the past, in which people were robbed by so-called “false prophets” had also been reported to the police.

He said the “false prophets” used different tricks and stratagems to rob people of their money. Sometimes victims were told they will lose their loved ones if they were not praying for them. These false prophets will then lure their unsuspecting victims to isolated areas to “pray for them” where they instead rob them of their money.

Maheso added that the police will also try and negotiate with the banks to advise the social clubs members to transfer money into their different accounts.

He advised residents to take safety tips very seriously because criminals were aware that this time of the year, social club members were about to share the money that they have saved throughout the year.

The police advised the public not to withdraw large amounts of money to do shopping but rather swipe their cards.

Police advised also warned people not to allow strangers to help them at ATMs.

Maheso said there would be increased police visibility at the malls during the festive season and anti-crime awareness campaigns would be stepped up.

Anyone who suspects they have been scammed or someone tried to scam them can contact the police on 08600-10111.

He advised the public to report any suspicious people to the police on the same number.