Three Honeydew detectives are restoring the dignity and reputation of the police with their undivided work ethic.
The trio, Constable Dikala Malema, Captain Hasani Shirinda and Sergeant Takalani Matshavha, recently made a complainant proud of the police after he put his trust in them to investigate and subsequently arrest a man who had defrauded him with six cars through a Taxify business arrangement.
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The complainant learnt the hard way after he trusted a man who allegedly sold him six vehicles which in fact belonged to rental services.
The complainant told Northsider that he came across this man while he was looking for a driver for his first taxi. “I was introduced to him by a friend of mine who has been in this business for a while. I asked him how he got his drivers and he introduced me to a man who claimed he was a fleet manager for Taxify. He said his job was to source the drivers for you, and manage the business,” the complainant said.
“We met with this man, who confirmed that he had drivers that he trains for the job, and we agreed to work together as long as I received my weekly payments for the car,” the victim explained.
He said the business ran smoothly for a number of months, until he acquired more cars in June. “The man was paying the money on a weekly basis, so when I bought my second car some time in May, I gave it to him to manage. The following month, my wife wanted to buy cars as well and he came to us saying that he knew of vehicles that were on sale because some owners wanted upgrades. We showed interest and then he sold us two cars in the same month (one a Ford and the other a Mazda) and provided all the paperwork,” he said, adding that they went as far as insuring and installing tracking devices in the vehicles.
The complainant only realised he was being scammed later, after visiting the traffic department. And after proving the scam, he went straight to the police station to report the matter.
Constable Malema summarised the suspect’s modus operandi. “This guy pretended to be a fleet manager. He rented cars from rental dealerships and ran them so that they made money. He then took the same cars he’d rented and sold them to the victims and continued to be their fleet manager. When the car was due to be returned to the dealership, he would take it back, and rent another which he again sold to the victims,” he explained.
The suspect was arrested early this month and all six vehicles were recovered from different locations, including rental outlets and Hillbrow.
According to Malema, the man faces six counts of fraud and is expected to appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on 19 July for a formal bail application.
