Cape Town police arrested 14 foreign nationals charged with fraud after they checked into a local hotel allegedly using fraudulent bank cards.
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said an intervention-integrated operation was conducted in the City centre, led by SAPS.
“The members entered a local hotel and identified a room where they found five male and nine female foreign nationals. They searched the room and confiscated three Apple MacBooks, 13 Apple Pro iPhones, including bank cards and fraudulent identity books,” said Swartbooi.
The suspects will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
Resident Alizwa Mgwi said they hoped the suspects would stay in jail for a long time.
“SAPS members need to do more of these operations because there are still a lot of people committing fraud in our areas and some in the townships,” said Alizwa.
Alizwa believed that locals were also committing these crimes.
“They are working with our brothers and sisters. Our government needs to send undocumented foreign nationals back to their countries. I don’t think it will be easy for documented foreigners to commit crime.”
Another resident was not surprised at all about what SAPS found in the suspects’ possession.
“Most of them buy cars using fraudulent bank cards. I am happy that this time they were caught and that they won’t be able to commit crime again,” said the resident.
He said the only thing that would send a strong message to other people breaking the law would be giving them harsh sentences.
“It is easy to commit crime in our country because criminals know that they will get away with it. If criminals got harsh sentences, foreign nationals would never commit crimes. They do it because they see that our law enforcement is weak,” said the resident.
Pictured above: Cape Town police officers arrested 14 foreign nationals on charges of fraud, the suspects allegedly booked into the hotel and paid with fraudulent bank cards.
Image source: Supplied
