Booth operators swindled

Four suspected criminals from Lusaka have been arrested in Luwingu District in the Northern Province for swindling booth operators.

The four were found with 10 sim cards and K13,000 cash in their pockets after they swindled two booth operators in Luwingu District in  Northern Province and Chipili District in  Luapula Province.

Northern Province Police Commanding Officer, Lucky Munkondya, confirmed the development in Luwingu.

Mrs Munkondya said the suspects are alleged to have swindled a lady of Chiponde village in Chief Chipalo’s area who was at the time working as a booth operator.

She adds that another man of Chipili District in Luapula Province was swindled in a similar circumstance.

The suspects who are believed to have come from different locations in Lusaka district, swindled booth operators pretending to be sending money to their relatives when in fact not.

Mrs Munkondya has since withheld the names as investigations have continued to link the suspects to other crimes.

Facts of the matter are that, the suspects approached a booth operator situated at Chiponde village in Chief Chipalo with intent to send K6,200 but only managed to send K2,200 and later disappeared before she could confront them.

Munkondya further said police in Luwingu also received another report from Chipili Police station in Luapula province on the 4^th January 2024 alleging that suspects driving a Toyota VITZ registration CAA 8914 stole K2,800 from a booth operator in the area adding that the suspects were heading to Northern.

The four suspects were later intercepted at the Luwingu-Kasama check point where they were apprehended.

Mrs. Munkondya said the four suspects have been charged with the offence of theft contrary to section 272 of chapter 87 and identity theft contrary to section 53 of cyber security and cybercrime ACT number 2 of 2021 chapter 39 of the laws of Zambia.

The suspects were targeting mobile money agents operating along Mansa-Luwingu- Kasama road.

After interrogation, the suspects admitted having stolen money in Chipili and Luwingu district respectively.

The suspects will soon appear before Luwingu Magistrate Court