Cheque-fraud syndicate busted in Omaruru

By: ADAM HARTMAN

THREE men were arrested in Omaruru on Tuesday after they “bought” booze worth N$18 000 from Erongo Wholesalers with a stolen cheque.

It was teamwork between the wholesaler’s manager, Kai Griebel, the bank and the police that led to the arrest.

Griebel told The Namibian that a “very large amount” of alcohol was telephonically ordered from the wholesaler by one of the suspects on Monday.

“He said he opened a new lodge in the area, but we knew nothing about it seeing we know all the lodges in the area. He wanted to pay with a cash cheque, but we are weary of cheque fraud and of people we don’t know who wants to pay per cheque for such a large amount so we requested him to deposit the amount into our bank account,” he said.

A cheque of N$18 296 was deposited, allegedly at a bank in Usakos on Tuesday. The suspect then said he would collect the goods just before 17h00.

“We saw on our system that a cheque was deposited, but it takes some time to clear. We informed the bank that we were suspect of the transaction and it did not take long before the bank called us back and told us that it was a stolen cheque,” said Griebel. “We informed the police and immediate action was taken.”

Just before 17h00, the suspect walked in with a proof of deposit and presented it to the cashier.

A “dummy trolley” was arranged and was filled with the suspects ‘order’. Once he took it to a car for it to be loaded, police officers swooped in and arrested the man.

According to a police source, the first suspect implicated two more suspects that were later arrested in Omaruru. After their arrest, a fourth person was implicated but police are still looking for him.

Depending on the investigation, the suspects may appear in the Omaruru Magistrate’s court today.

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