An illegal foreign currency dealer lost R23 000 to a
colleague last Friday after allegedly being given fake US dollars in a botched
deal in Bulawayo.
The victim had been phoned by the suspect who said he had
US$1 400 that he wanted to exchange for the rand.
The two agreed to meet at a hotel in the central business
district where the victim was given the fake notes, which had the same serial
numbers before he disappeared.
A report was made to the police who are still investigating
the matter. National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi
confirmed the incident yesterday.
“We are investigating a case in which a Bulawayo illegal
money changer was duped of ZAR23 000 by another money changer who phoned him to
exchange US$1 400 at a local hotel on July 10, 2020. After the deal, the
complainant found out that he had been given fake US$100 notes with the same
serial numbers,” he said.
Cases of people losing foreign currency in Bulawayo have
been on the increase this month. Last Friday, four armed robbers snatched US$80
000 from a man believed to be a gold dealer, while he was in his car outside a
city centre hotel.
No arrests have since been made and police are
investigating the case.
The 29-year-old man was in his Toyota Allex at around 3pm
near the intersection of Joshua Nkomo Street and 12 Avenue opposite a hotel
when one of the robbers, armed with a pistol, jumped into his vehicle.
The suspect was then joined by his three accomplices and
the four manhandled the victim, demanding cash.
They later drove off in the Toyota Allex with the victim,
before dumping him in the city centre.
In another case, a worker from a Bulawayo-based hardware
company allegedly lost US$30 000 to thieves while in transit to banking the
cash after he stopped at a supermarket in the city centre to buy food.
The driver had been sent by one of the directors of the
hardware firm in Belmont.
The cash was stolen, according to the report to the police,
on June 30, 2020 at about 8am when thieves stole the khaki envelope on the
dashboard of the parked Toyota IST during the 10 minutes the driver was in the
supermarket. Herald
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