Pensioner robbed of R100 000
The pensioner was approached by three non-suspicious looking men at his home in Zone 3 on Saturday.
An elderly Ga-Rankuwa man was swindled out of R100 000 at the weekend shortly after he withdrew his pension.
Police spokesperson Captain Mathews Nkoadi said the 64-year-old pensioner was a former employee of Nissan SA’s Rosslyn plant.
He was was robbed on Saturday and left with a bag full of papers.
The man was approached by three men at his Ga-Rankuwa home on Saturday.
“The three men told him that they were from Nissan SA,” said Nkoadi.
“They said they knew that he had received pension money and told him that the money he had received was not enough.”
The three men said they were going to help him to get more money.
They told the pensioner he should first withdraw the money he had in the bank.
They took him to two different bank branches, one in Arcadia and the other in Sunnyside.
“Fortunately or unfortunately due to withdrawal limitations they could not be able to make him withdraw all the money there was in his bank account,” he said.
The three men asked the pensioner to put the money in a handbag.
The elderly man somehow ended with nothing but a bag filled with worthless paper.
Also read: Pensioner robbed at mall
“As a pensioner, he did not suspect anything untoward,” said Nkoadi.
“The pensioner and his daughter then came to the police station to lay charges of fraud and robbery.”
Nkoadi said police have since launched a manhunt for the three robbers.
“We suspect that there is a big syndicate involved in pension fund robberies,” he said.
Also read: Pretoria Pensioner killed
“We are following leads. There’s a number of people involved in this syndicate who provide information such as contact details and addresses of people who have received pension money to the criminals.”
“In most cases the suspects are impersonating the police and Nissan employees to solicit money from unsuspecting victims,” he said.
Nkoadi appealed to members of the public to guard against these criminals and be vigilant at all times.
Meanwhile Ga-Rankuwa police were involved in a weekend operation when they arrested 357 people.
These crime prevention initiatives included sporadic roadblocks, stop-and-searches and addressing all kinds of crimes in all sectors.
Crimes committed included those sought for attempted murder, drunken driving, murder, attempted rape and illegal immigrants among others.
All those arrested will appear in the Ga-Rankuwa, Soshanguve and Pretoria North Magistrate’s courts soon.
All illegal immigrants will be deported.
Police urged residents to call the provincial duty Brigadier (0823138399) and a provincial duty General (082-444-4354) to report crime.
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