13 Mar 2019

Police in Nata have cautioned Batswana about criminals who obtain by false presence, claiming to be law enforcement officers.

“Just recently we had an incident where a man claiming to be a police officer at Nata gave certain people a ride from Tutume to Nata and told his unsuspecting passengers that he had an emergency which needed him to immediately send P700 to a relative only to swindle them of their money,” explained Nata police station commander, Superintendent Vincent Pitseitsile in an interview.

He said the man told his victims that on arrival in Nata, he would go to the office and get the money from his superiors to refund them.

On arrival, the suspect parked his vehicle at the police station and went into the offices only to come back claiming the senior officers had left office and would be back later.

He instructed the unsuspecting passengers to wait at the nearby filling station only to vanish in thin air until the passengers went back to the station in search of him where they found he was not an officer there, said Supt Pitseitsile.

The station commander therefore cautioned Batswana to always seek identification of persons claiming to be police officers. 

He said they should also insist on coming with the person to their offices to get proof that indeed the person was an officer.

On other issues, Supt Pitseitsile said they were engaged in a man hunt for a suspect who raped a 55-year-old woman of Manxotae after he broke in her house at night. 

He appealed to the public to come forward with information that could lead to his arrest.

In another incident, Supt Pitseitsile said the police had arrested a 22-year old man in connection with causing grievous bodily harm to his 24 year old girlfriend. 

The suspect, he said, would soon appear before Nata Magistrate Court for mention. ENDS