TWO men believed to be Mozambican nationals were on Tuesday arrested in Bulawayo after they allegedly tried to cheat some businessmen in a deal where they promised to produce counterfeit United States dollars for them. Report by Own correspondent
The spokesperson for the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Bulawayo Detective Inspector Ntombizodwa Chiduwuro confirmed the arrests yesterday.
She identified the suspects as Roberto Paulo (24) and Bento Matola (30), but said they were not sure of their nationalities.
Chiduwuro said the two were found in possession of material used in making fake money such as syringes, papers and some chemicals.
“They claimed they use those things to cleanse and make more money,” she said.
Chiduwuro said the two were being charged with possession of articles for criminal use.
She advised the public not to associate with conmen and suspicious characters.
“They should guard against theft of their hard-earned money through such shady deals,” she said.
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The marketing manager of Keep Up Hardware situated in the central business district, Jonas Masimba — who alerted the police about the scam — told NewsDay that he was approached by the three men on Tuesday claiming they could make fake money for him if he gave them $10 000.
He said he managed to facilitate their arrest after he advised them to come back later for the deal.
Masimba said the suspects, who had Mozambican identity particulars, approached him in the morning with a bag full of unidentified material and papers.
“They offered to make $30 000 for me if I gave them $10 000 cash,” he said.
“They demonstrated how they make the fake money using their material.
“I told them to come back later after I had sourced the money. That is when I informed the CID over the suspicious characters.”
Masimba said when the three suspects returned for the deal, the detectives were already around leading to their arrest.
