A rideshare driver was arr3sted by police in Simons Town, Western Cape, on Wednesday for allegedly stealing money from a tourist and his two local friends.
Police spokesman Colonel Andre Traut said the 30-year-old driver from Zimbabwe took the 21-year-old Danish man and his friends from Cape Town to Simons Town.
While the passengers slept in the car, the driver took one of their credit cards and sent the information to his brother in Europe. The brother then made seven purchases at high-end shops, spending R650,000.
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Traut explained that the tourist noticed the charges on his phone in the early morning. He tried to contact the driver but couldn’t reach him, so he went to the Simons Town police station to report the cr!me.
Colonel Traut said officer Sergeant Henry Simons cleverly arranged a new ride with the suspect.
Using a phone from the courthouse to avoid suspicion, he booked the ride. When the driver picked him up, he questioned him and then arr3st3d him.
The police are asking anyone who might have been a victim of a similar scam to come forward and report it. The rideshare driver is now in police custody and will appear in court once he has been charged.
