Police in the North West nabbed four suspects with dye-stained money, along with chemicals used to wash the cash.
Members of the Klerksdorp Crime Prevention Unit, Rustenburg Detectives and the Potchefstroom Flying Squad conducted a collaborated operation in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District.
The group was charged with possession of stolen property and money laundering and appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court earlier this week.
The provincial spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said they initially only arrested one suspect.
“Information received led the team to a house in Kanana near Orkney where one suspect, Sesing Tsabane, 32, who is a Lesotho citizen, was found. He was arrested after chemicals which are used to wash dye-stained notes were found in his possession.
“The team then proceeded to a second house in Extension 5 in Alabama, where a substantial amount of dye-stained money was found. Three more suspects Letlala Elias Qabano, 36, also from Lesotho, Joshua Molibeli, 34, and Molefe Abel Fusi, 26, were arrested,” Myburgh said.
The group made a brief appearance and were remanded in custody.
Myburgh said police investigations continue and the possibility of linking the suspects to ATM bombing cases cannot be ruled out.
The North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena congratulated the team for their efforts and said police will continue to work hard to remove criminals from society.
The suspects are expected back in court on Monday, May 27.
In a separate incident, a multidisciplinary team managed to seize illicit cigarettes believed to have been smuggled into the country in Limpopo.
The illicit cigarettes, believed to have been smuggled from Zimbabwe, were worth R300,000.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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