A pair of tour organisers who were arrested for allegedly defrauding many locals out of thousands of rands invested in an overseas trip that never materialised have been released on bail.
The female suspects, aged 59 and 53, appeared in the Somerset West Magistrates’ Court again last Wednesday (4 December) and are presumably facing charges of fraud, theft and money laundering.
This after being apprehended on Friday 22 November for allegedly conning around 80 people, including many Helderbergers, out of their hard-earned savings forked out for a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Thailand.
Police reported that two suspects were arrested by the provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit for a fraud case involving approximately R1,9 million. Between 1 June 2022 and 30 July 2024 80 victims responded to a social media advertisement for a trip to Thailand, each paying R26 000 for travel and accommodation. When the trip never occurred victims across several provinces reported the apparent scam to police stations. After centralising the cases in the Western Cape, investigators found the suspects could not account for the funds, leading to their arrest in Strand.
The suspects’ first court appearance was on Monday 25 November. They remained in custody until last Wednesday, when their formal bail applications were granted. They were released on R10 000 and R5 000 bail respectively, and required to hand in their passports.
The case has been postponed until Tuesday 18 February.
– Jamey Gordon
