Five card fraud suspects in court

FIVE of the six people arrested earlier this week in connection with a series of illegal debit- and credit-card transactions remain in custody following their first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court in Katutura yesterday.

The sixth suspect, a Namibian woman, was released the previous day, when all charges against her were dropped. The remaining suspects all face charges of fraud, forgery, theft and being in possession of foreign currency in excess of the legal limit.The suspects are Amirthazingam Pugalnanthy (24), Satheeskumaar Thulastithas (29), Pararasasingam Saranga (23), Tjiniju Mekaundapi (26) and Abdul Kader Jamal (42).They are one Namibian, two Sri Lankans, a Singaporean and a British national.The five men were arrested after Police and bank officials tracked their activities – stealing information stored on bank cards from across the world, copying this information onto forged cards, and then withdrawing money from these accounts.Upon their arrest, Police confiscated N$920 741,56 in cash from the group, N$826 369 of which was in foreign currency.All five were denied bail yesterday, but were advised by Magistrate Desmond Beukes to make formal bail applications if they wished.They all said they wanted to find private legal representation.The case against them was postponed until August 24 for further investigation, as well as to get an interpreter for at least one of the foreign suspects, who cannot speak English.The State was represented by prosecutor Roxanne Witbooi.The remaining suspects all face charges of fraud, forgery, theft and being in possession of foreign currency in excess of the legal limit. The suspects are Amirthazingam Pugalnanthy (24), Satheeskumaar Thulastithas (29), Pararasasingam Saranga (23), Tjiniju Mekaundapi (26) and Abdul Kader Jamal (42).They are one Namibian, two Sri Lankans, a Singaporean and a British national.The five men were arrested after Police and bank officials tracked their activities – stealing information stored on bank cards from across the world, copying this information onto forged cards, and then withdrawing money from these accounts.Upon their arrest, Police confiscated N$920 741,56 in cash from the group, N$826 369 of which was in foreign currency.All five were denied bail yesterday, but were advised by Magistrate Desmond Beukes to make formal bail applications if they wished.They all said they wanted to find private legal representation.The case against them was postponed until August 24 for further investigation, as well as to get an interpreter for at least one of the foreign suspects, who cannot speak English.The State was represented by prosecutor Roxanne Witbooi.