A 39-year-old fugitive, Michael Jacobus Willemans, who has been on the run for almost five years ran out of luck on January 9 when he was caught by the police at a complex on 9th Road in Rynfield, Benoni.

Willemans, who has several cases against him country wide, is set to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate’s court tomorrow.

The alleged fraudster, who is originally from Brakpan, was arrested at a flat believed to be that of his girlfriend after members of the SAPS Trio-Tactic Unit, in collaboration with Anti-Hijacking and Policing SA and CJ Investigators, received a tip-off about his whereabouts.

Willemans allegedly defrauded and stole from people nationwide while hiding behind pseudonyms.

Cases of theft and fraud are reportedly opened against him in Boksburg North, Welkom, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and other areas.

His alleged modus operandi was to target single and elderly women through dating sites. These criminal activities allegedly began four months after he was released on parole for theft in 2017.

Willeman’s alleged modus operandi

According to Marius Cloete of Anti-Hijacking and Policing SA, he and Captain Yolande Hulme, an investigating officer from Welkom, have been on Willemans’ trail for years.

“We would get leads but when we reacted to the said address, he was nowhere to be found. This time around we managed to apprehend him,” says Cloete.

He explains that when Willemans approached his victims, he would claim he is a businessman.

“He would then ask to borrow money from his victims, claiming that he couldn’t access money from his trust account. Victims would then withdraw funds from their accounts for him,” says Cloete.

When the long arm of the law caught up with him

Cloete says on the day of Willemans arrest, he was found sitting on a couch in the apartment of his girlfriend.

“When we entered the flat, he got the shock of his life. We also found keys to a guesthouse inside the flat,” says Cloete.

Willemans was taken to the Crystal Park SAPS, the nearest police station to where he was arrested, but was later transferred to Boksburg North SAPS where his most recent case was reopened.

Boksburg North SAPS station commander Colonel Mack Mngomezulu confirmed the arrest.

“He appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on January 11 and the case was postponed to January 18,” says Mngomezulu.