South Africa: A 46-year-old female sought for drugging and robbing elderly pensioners was arrested in Tongaat – KZN on Monday. The members of the public contacted the police force asking them to come to Pensioners Cottage on Plein Street.
The call was received at the operations center at approximately 10:46. This happened after the suspect arrived to meet with a local councilor regarding subsidized housing.
The Residents revealed to the authorities that the female was a con woman, She had previously robbed one of the residents. On arrival, Reaction Officers also found a link of the woman to a robbery that occurred on Moss Street in Verulam – KZN on Tuesday. They said that the incident took place in the previous week.
On the day of the previous incident, two women confronted a 67-year-old pensioner after she left the Verulam Market. They tried to befriend the victim by smooth-talking her and eventually scam her. They convinced the elderly pensioners to let them accompany her to her home.
On arriving at the said home, the suspects found the pensioner’s husband in the house, Afterwards one of the woman told the couple that they possessed ashes that could cure any diseases.
The conwomen then boiled some water and added the ashes. The elderly couple consumed the solution and lost consciousness soon afterwards.
The couple was found by the family members many hours later, when they visited them for a wellness check. The family members reported that the victims were non-responsive when they go to the house,
The male victim was found unconscious in the yard of the house and had bruising on several parts of his body. The victims reported that the conwomen had taken Cash, designer clothing and jewellery from the house.
After the arrest, the suspect confessed to the reaction officers about the criminal activities. She stated that she teamed up with another accomplice. They had together robbed several elderly pensioners in the Ethekwini Region – KZN.
She also informed the officers that her accomplice worked in a call centre. They would obtain contact details and identification numbers from the call centre’s database.
Sometimes, the two suspects would talk to their victims on the phone and ask them to meet. They used to mix the sleeping pills in the ashes which they gave to the victims. The Reaction officers have handed over the suspect to the SAPS Verulam.