‘Daylight robbery’ by fake health inspectors in Port Shepstone
It was established that the vehicle used by the perpetrators had been hired and fitted with fake Department of Health signage.
Three people pretending to be inspectors from the Department of Heath (DoH) have been arrested after attempting to solicit bribes of up to R3 000 from Port Shepstone businessmen last Friday.
The two men and a woman targeted three businesses in Nelson Mandela Drive, claiming to check the expiry dates of foodstuffs.
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One store manager was told by the ‘inspectors’ that they would close the shop down for having ‘expired’ items on sale.
The manager became suspicious as his stock was within its sell-by date and contacted the Ugu District Environmental Health offices to confirm the visit.
“One of the men walked up to me and said I must not waste his time and make him sweat. He said in five minutes he could shut the shop doors, but would walk way if I gave him R3 000.”
The three were in the process of removing food from the shelves when Ugu Environmental Health practitioner, Vasie Manawer arrived.
She confronted the three, who were in possession of DoH ID cards and reflective vests with ‘health inspector’ printed on the back.
Ugu District Municipality spokesman, Mondli Ngcobo said one of the impostors told the practitioner that he needed to fetch documentation from their vehicle which would prove their authenticity.
“He pulled up at the front of the business in a vehicle which bore the KZN DoH number plates and logos. The other two bogus inspectors got into the vehicle, which then sped off,” said Mr Ngcobo.
Within minutes the municipality contacted the DoH in Pietermaritzburg to establish whether the vehicle and officials were in fact from the department.
“They responded, saying the number plates were assigned to the department in Pietermaritzburg.
“It was also established that the vehicle bearing the legitimate number plate was at Townhill Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
“Ray Nkonyeni Municipality Law Enforcement was contacted and immediately put out an alert,” said Mr Ngcobo.
Three days later the suspects were spotted in Hibberdene and arrested.
“A vehicle with false registration plates, reflective jackets, fraudulent documents from the DoH, identity cards as well as stamps were seized,” said police spokesman, Colonel Thembeka Mbele.
“It was established that the vehicle used by the perpetrators had been hired and fitted with fake DoH signage.”
The suspects, aged between 34 and 38 years, appeared in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Wednesday) on charges of extortion and fraud.
The case was postponed for further investigation.
Ugu District Municipality warned businesses to be vigilant when approached by officials claiming to be health inspectors, urging them to contact the municipality before allowing so-called ‘inspectors’ into their premises.
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