A businessman from Zhombe, Midlands Province, was left counting severe losses after a man who masqueraded as a VID officer in charge of disposing vehicles forfeited to the State, duped him of US$8,000.
According to Midlands provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko, the police are investigating a series of fraud cases involving the suspect who is only identified as Mageza.
The provincial police publicist also told the state media that cases involving Mageza date to as far back as July 2024.
In one of the cases, Inspector Mahoko said, Mageza duped Honest Mahleka, a businessman based at Joel Business Centre in Zhombe.
He said the suspect convinced Mahleka that he was disposing a Toyota Hiace and a Nissan AD Van at a cost of $8 500.
Mahleka was then instructed to deposit the money into various EcoCash accounts.
“Soon after the transactions were made, the suspect was no longer reachable. We are appealing for information that may assist in the investigation,” said Inspector Mahoko.
Meanwhile, the police is urging members of the public to do thorough background checks before making any payments in the pursuit of avoiding being duped.
