Ex-cop uncovered waiters' scam

2007-10-10 09:15

Leon-Ben Lamprecht

Cape Town - Dros owner Swys Kotze said he realised something was amiss when he looked at banking slips and things did not add up.

The police's commercial crimes unit on Wednesday swooped down on the Dros pub restaurant in the Canal Walk shopping centre and arrested nine waiters for credit card fraud.

The waiters, eight men and a woman, all between the ages of 21 and 32, were arrested at about 17:00, two weeks after management had initially informed the police.

"I was in the police service for 22 years," said Kotze. "I was the commander at the detectives branch at Maitland police station. I still look at things like a policeman would."

People warned to be aware

After he had realised that something was wrong, he asked a former colleague at the commercial unit to investigate. This investigation led to the arrest of the nine waiters.

"Some of the cards (which were falsified) were used at shops all over the Peninsula.

"Of course it was a shock."

He said people should be aware of this type of crime.

"People must wake up. It can happen to anyone. And it happens quickly."

Although he had fewer waiters, he still had 40 staff members and it was "business as usual".

"We let the managers handle card transactions the moment we realised something was amiss. I also ordered cordless card machines and I'm waiting for them to be delivered.

According to a police report, management realised the waiters were making use of a skimming device, which copied the information on the card, and this information was used to make false cards.

They also used false cards to make false transactions, removed the corresponding amounts from the cash registers, and also stole money from the cash registers.

"Clients need not worry. We inform the client that the manager will handle the transaction, or they can accompany the waiter to the card machine."

The suspects will appear in the Cape Magistrate's Court on fraud charges.

The police have warned the public to be wary of this type of crime.

- Die Burger