Spokesperson, Thabo Covane, says the suspect was arrested on Sunday, January 13, in the city centre. He is alleged to have approached a man who was carrying over R2000 in his wallet while walking in the vicinity of the Central Park Complex on Saturday, January 12, and alleged he was a police officer. The suspect said he was going to apprehend the victim for taking money from people and was going to confiscate the wallet as a result.

After an exchange of words over the wallet, the victim handed his wallet over after the suspect threatened to shoot him if he did not do so. The conman shoved the victim and left him in a parked police van that did not have any occupants. The suspect later returned with the wallet and a quarter of the money missing. Covane explains that the victim and his brother later returned to the crime scene to investigate the matter, with the assistance of witnesses who were present when the incident occurred the day prior, they ended up spotting the perpetrator lurking around the area.

Local police were called to attend to the matter and the suspect was apprehended for the alleged robbery. The investigation team went to the suspect’s residence in Bloemfontein where Covane says they found “a police reflector jacket, two police belts, a police tracksuit, and two military caps.”.

The suspect alleged that he was a police reservist in Jagersfontein and came to Bloemfontein – an hour away – with the hope of being hired permanently. Authorities looked into their records to check if the 29-year-old man was employed by the South African Police Service and he was not on the database, says Covane. Part of the victim’s money was discovered at the residence. The police spokesperson says they do not know if the accused is a repeat offender because no other victims have come forward. They do suspect that he has conned other Bloemfontein locals out of their money.

OFM News