Tuesday, October 08, 2024 - A 39-year-old Nigerian national, Gabriel Okori was remanded in custody for theft and fraud after his arrest in connection with an R3 million romance scam in South Africa.
Okori appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on
Monday, October 7, 2024, after he was arrested last Thursday, in Cape Town by
the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks,
assisted by the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement and a private security
company.
"The complainant in the matter alleges that she met
what she thought was a white male on Facebook by the name of Mark Hermanus, the
two exchanged cellphone numbers and began chatting on instant messaging
(WhatsApp),” said Gauteng spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer
Thatohatsi Mavimbela.
“While the pair were getting to know each other, ‘Mark
Hermanus’ informed the complainant that his son was sick and asked the
complainant to lend him money for his son’s medical bills."
The Hawks said the woman kept giving “Mark Hermanus” money,
and the bill escalated to over R3 million.
The man promised he would pay her back, once he had paid all
his son’s medical bills. However, he never paid back the money.
“The matter was reported to the Hawks’ serious commercial
crime investigation (unit) which led to the arrest of the suspect who was
traced and identified as Gabriel Okori, a Nigerian national in Cape Town on
Thursday, October 3,” said Mavimbela.
“Okori made his first appearance before the Pretoria
Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where the matter was postponed to October 14.”
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