The woman was arrested soon after touching down at OR Tambo, accused of card cloning.
Image: File
A 34-year-old woman is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday after being arrested while disembarking from a flight at OR Tambo International Airport.
Border Police arrested the woman on Tuesday after she touched down from a Qatar flight.
The Western Cape spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks), Zinzi Hani said the woman faces charges of contravening the Electronic Communications Act and Cybercrimes Act.
The woman is alleged to have cloned banked cards.
“It was reported that between the years 2017 and 2018, the suspect was involved in compromising clients' card information while she was still employed at a car rental service at the Cape Town International Airport. Through preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the suspect gave the clients’ banking information to a syndicate who in turn manufactured cloned cards,” Hani said.
The matter was referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team for further probing.
“The clients suffered a financial loss in the amount of R400,000,” Hani said.
While the woman is expected to appear in transit in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court, she will be transferred back to the Western Cape where she will face her crimes in a local court in Cape Town.
In a separate incident, another suspect linked to a case involving the theft of an estate and money laundering appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court earlier this week.
Wandile Hlongwana, 24, was arrested on January 16, 2025, by a multidisciplinary team comprising members from the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bellville. Along with Doornkop SAPS, Vusela Security, and Cape Town Crime Intelligence.
This is the second suspect to be arrested in the matter. The main accused in the matter is Keshika Naidoo from Jadoo and Associates.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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