Alleged dating app robbery syndicate bust in Pietermaritzburg, two suspects arrested
Two suspects have been arrested in Pietermaritzburg for alleging luring men on a dating app and then robbing them at gunpoint.
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Police and private security company, Mi7 National Group have bust an alleged criminal syndicate in Pietermaritzburg that has been robbing men at gunpoint after luring them on a dating app.
Mi7 said in a statement this week that two suspects were arrested after investigations led to a breakthrough in robbery cases reported at Mountain Rise, Loop Street (Pietermaritzburg), and Alexandra Road.
The security company said the suspects would lure Pietermaritzburg men to an abandoned home in Scottsville through a dating app, they were then allegedly assaulted at gunpoint and made to transfer over large sums of money from their banking apps on their mobile phones.
“The victims, all men, described the same modus operandi. They would communicate with an individual via a popular dating app. That individual would then lure them to an address in Scottsville. When the victim arrived, they were confronted by between five and seven suspects and forced into the premises — an abandoned building. There, they were held in a room, assaulted at gunpoint, and made to empty their bank accounts via their mobile banking apps, either through an eWallet (where funds are transferred to a cellphone number and the recipient can withdraw it at an ATM) or to a bank account.”
The breakthrough came when one of the victims was able to provide banking records, which showed from which ATM the funds were withdrawn and at what time.
This led Alexandra Road Police Station detectives to a mall where they were able to source CCTV footage of the suspects and their vehicle.
The vehicle was flagged on Mi7's Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, which operates across several areas, and the car was picked up in the Scottsville area.
“The vehicle was eventually spotted and brought to a halt on Oribi Road. Two suspects were inside, one in possession of a firearm with live ammunition. The combined team then proceeded with the suspects to the said premises where the crimes occurred. There, they found more live ammunition, more than 40 different car keys, half a dozen vehicle ignitions, a computer box for a vehicle, an alarm modem, and gate remote controls. Further investigations are underway,” the security company said.