Police hunt for trickster in Lilongwe

Police in Lilongwe are hunting for a trickster who duped an iron sheet company and went away with iron sheets and nails worth K5.6 million.

According to Lilongwe Police Station Deputy Public Relations Officer Foster Benjamin the suspect is said to have posed as a customer and visited the company, Bawo Steel Limited, in Njewa on September 16 where he demanded a quotation.

Three days later the purported customer called the company and informed it that he had deposited K5.6 million cash. He said he would avail himself at the company with the deposit slip to collect the iron sheets.

“The suspect went to the factory and produced a deposit slip before going away with the items in a hired vehicle.

‘On Monday, the account holder received a bank alert confirming a K1,500 (one thousand and five hundred kwacha) transaction which was made last Saturday, instead of K5.6 million,” Benjamin said.

He further said that, the holder rushed to the bank to check and compare the deposit slip with the message and the bank confirmed the transaction which was made by the customer was of K1, 500.

The complainant reported the matter to Njewa Police Unit and a follow-up was made.

He explained that, the driver who was hired was traced and led the police to Lumbadzi where he dropped the sheets. It was discovered that the iron sheets were already taken by another vehicle.

Police investigations led to the second driver’s home in Area 24 Ngwenya and recovery of 232 pieces of iron sheets from a certain house. The suspect was not yet found.

A manhunt for him is still underway to recover the nails and remaining iron sheets.

If arrested, the suspect will answer a charge of theft by false pretenses rather than fraud.

-manna-