A 32-year-old Swati national, Sfiso Masuku, who works as a petrol attendant in Mpumalanga, has been remanded in custody by the Middelburg District Court after he was arrested for contravention of the Cybercrime Act.
Mpumalanga spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said Masuku appeared in court on Wednesday.
“The case was postponed to March 8, for confirmation of the address. The accused remains in custody,” said Sekgotodi.
On Tuesday, IOL reported that the fuel attendant was arrested by the Hawks’ Middelburg-based serious commercial crime investigation unit on Monday, at Ultra City N4 filling station in Middelburg.
It is alleged that during an internal audit, Absa and FNB bank card investigators had suspicion that there was a card skimming device amongst the petrol attendants at the filling station.
“Information was escalated to the Hawks for further investigation and it was operationalised. The team comprising of the Hawks and bank investigators conducted a search and seizure operation,” said Sekgotodi.
“During the search, the suspect (Masuku) who was on duty, was found in possession of the skimming device. He was arrested and detained pending his first court appearance.”
The case was transferred to the Hawks Middelburg-based serious commercial crime unit for further investigation.
“The value is still being determined. It is currently estimated at R400,000 potential loss. Investigation is continuing,” said Sekgotodi.
Last year, IOL reported that a 39-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man who attempted to fill diesel at a petrol station using a cloned bank card was ordered to pay a fine of R15,000 or spend six month behind bars.
Jerome Makoatle was convicted on charges of fraud in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
IOL