An Australian woman seeking
love across the Indian Ocean probably had no idea what Tohukwu Udeh looked like
when she allegedly parted with R375‚000 to gain his affections.
But on Monday the tall and skinny young man with a downy beard
and stylish hairdo was unmasked as one of the suspected players in a syndicate
which preyed on lonely hearts looking for a soul mate in the murky depths of
cyberspace.
He appeared briefly in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court where
his lawyer‚ Lundi Maki‚ said that Udeh was self-employed in the business of
“buying and selling accident cars”.
It
was his second appearance in court after he was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious
Commercial Crime Investigation Unit earlier in August for allegedly defrauding
unsuspecting victims through online dating scams.
The
Hawks said in a media statement that the syndicate’s modus operandi included using
fake profiles on online dating websites to lure victims.
“The conversations would then build up to phone calls‚ emails‚
and WhatsApp messages‚ following which unsuspecting victims would then be
tricked into parting with money or purchasing gifts and ship them to the
fraudsters‚” said Hawks spokesperson Captain Philani Nkwalase.
“Several
[items of] electronic equipment that includes laptops‚ smart phones‚ bank
cards‚ and documents of a shipment on transit from a victim in Australia were
seized‚” he said.
The
state did not oppose bail for Udeh who had to pay R2‚000 bail and will have to
check in at a police station close to his residence in Burgundy Estate near
Bothasig.
The
case was postponed until November 23 for further investigation.