By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Police in Chilanga have arrested a 32- year-old-man who is suspected to be behind a spate of crimes involving Automated Teller Machine cards in which people have lost their money.
Police Spokesperson Esther Katongo said this was after police received a tip off from a member of the public that Mike Tembo the suspect was intending to buy a motor vehicle but they doubted his source of income.
Ms Katongo said Police laid an ambush and arrested the suspect.
She said upon searching him, they found him with a number of ATMs for different people and also a K17, 000 in his mobile money account which he wanted to use to bribe officers.
Ms Katongo said upon interrogations, the suspect claimed that the money was from a sale of his house in Chirundu to his relatives hence there was no any documentation to that effect.
She said Police instituted investigations and managed to locate some victims and among them was a man of Twin Palm, whose K93,000 was allegedly withdrawn by the suspect between 04th January, 2021 and 05th January, 2021.
He rushed to Chilanga Police in the company of his wife who positively identified the suspect.
Ms Katongo said the wife of the victim narrated that she had requested for some money from her husband and was given his ATM for her to withdraw a K5000. In the process of withdrawing, she requested for help from an unknown man who was within the vicinity who helped her to withdraw K3,000 and in the process of withdrawing the remaining K2000, the suspect swapped the ATM card with a fake one which was retained by the machine and advised the woman to get it back through the Bank.
Later, the husband begun receiving messages of withdraw from his Bank account on his phone and an amount of K93, 000 had been withdrawn.
Another member of the public who had his phone and wallet stolen from town in Lusaka also positively identified his ATM from those recovered.
Police have further recovered some newly purchased household goods suspected to be proceeds of crime among them, a sofa, fridge, stove and plasma television.
Investigations have continued members of the public are advised to desist from availing their bank secret codes to people they do not know as they risk having their money stolen.
