Cape Town - A suspected fraudster who has apparently evaded arrest for years was tracked down and arrested in Milnerton, Cape Town, on Wednesday by a team including a private investigator from Johannesburg.
Chad Thomas, the chief forensic investigator for IRS Forensic Investigations, said the independent company had considered the suspect, who had been on the run for years, as its "most wanted".
The suspect, according to Thomas, was wanted around the country for fraud cases totalling about R20m.
The suspect's identity is known to News24 and has been published widely on social media. However, Thomas said it was not clear if the suspect had been officially charged. News24 has therefore decided to withhold his name.
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana confirmed a man, 56, had been arrested on a fraud warrant.
She said the matter would be transferred to Johannesburg where he would appear in court.
Thomas, who was investigating the suspect on behalf of several complainants, said an arrest warrant for him had been issued by the Hawks in Pretoria.
Officers from Milnerton had then arrested him on Wednesday at a "hideout".
"I can confirm that in a joint operation between members of the Milnerton SAPS crime office and members of IRS Forensic Investigations, that the suspect... was taken into custody," Thomas said.
"We are grateful for the assistance and professionalism displayed by the Milnerton SAPS in their actions today that led to the arrest of what IRS Forensic Investigations regarded as our most wanted fraudster."
