Cape Town - The Atlantic Seaboard is being plagued by men pretending to be security guards and coaxing people into believing they have to pay a levy and fee for a permit to access the V&A Waterfront.
Ward 54 Councillor Nicola Jowell explained: “There has been a marked increase in the number of scammers posing as well-dressed security guards on Beach Road (mainly in Mouille Point) scamming people who are walking towards the Waterfront.
“(This involves) Anything from telling people they need a permit to access the Waterfront or to access via an alternative route, which they must pay for. There was another excellent arrest of presumed scammers by Law Enforcement after they noticed a suspicious vehicle and a chase ensued.
“The vehicle was stopped, the suspects arrested and a number of items used in the scam, along with the clothing used, were recovered.
“A few weeks ago, there was another arrest of security scammers.”
V&A Waterfront spokesperson, Donald Kau said: “We have not been alerted to such or received any incident reports.”
Police have yet to confirm the arrest.
Police are also on the hunt for an adult black male who they believe to be behind the spate of recent armed robberies on Lion’s Head, including the incident where three rangers were held at gunpoint last month.
According to the Facial Composition sketch, the robber is between the ages of 20 and 27 and is 160cm tall and of slender build.
He is armed and may be dressed in a blue-shirt, tracksuit pants and a peak cap.
The sketch was compiled with the help of one of the victims of one of the latest incidents on Lion’s Head.
In the past two months more than 20 incidents have been reported in the Table Mountain National Park.
Police spokesperson, Frederick van Wyk said the latest incident took place at the weekend on Lion’s Head.
“According to reports, the victims were approached by an unknown suspect who pointed at them with a firearm and robbed them of their personal belongings and fled the scene.”
Police did not comment further about the incident or on the identikit which has been shared on social media, including that of The Atlantic Seaboard Community Forum.
In another incident, three athletes participating in the RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town were mugged near Ocean View on Saturday. Their running shoes, hydration packs and gear were stolen, but they were left unharmed.
This followed an incident in which elite runner Tom Evans was mugged at knife point above Rhodes Memorial during a training run.
Race director, Stuart McConnachie, said the event had drawn many people even from far abroad: "We are extremely saddened and concerned by what happened to Tom Evans and have reached out to him to offer our support and access to counselling.
“We were excited to have him race at this year’s RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town but respect his decision to return to the UK.
“We are welcoming over 400 international runners to Cape Town this week and over 2 000 runners will take to the trails next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“To ensure everyone’s safety on our trails and address our concern for runners, we have increased our security deployments around the entire route.
“This includes community police, private security, Metro Police and horseback patrols in certain areas.
“We have the assurance of SANParks, the City of Cape Town, SAPS and Metro Police that strong measures are in place for safety on the trails.
“We continue to work with them to communicate concerns for runners and hikers, so we can all enjoy the incredible natural beauty we have on our doorstep."
Last month three Search and Rescue volunteers were robbed at gunpoint by a man pretending to be a hiker along the Table Mountain National Park.
The South African Rescue South Africa, SARZA were robbed of all their personal belongings.
This included their gear, which costs R22 000 to fully clothe a rescuer volunteer and the team of 25 members.
genevieve.serra@inl.co.za