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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