Keetmanshoop
Four suspects broke out of the Mariental Police Station holding cells in the wee hours of yesterday after they sawed through burglar bars with a hacksaw. The four fugitives who bolted from the police holding cells between 01h00 and 02h00 yesterday have been identified as Paul Vryman, 26, Charles Swartz, 24, Benji Lebereki, 26, and Mathias Mukoko, 35.
All suspects were in police custody facing charges of fraud and previous charges of escaping from lawful custody, while Swartz additionally faces a murder charge and Lebereki also faces murder and housebreaking charges.
The Hardap Regional Commander, Commissioner Andries van der Byl, telephonically confirmed that the suspects are habitual criminals, saying some of them have many pending cases against them in different towns.
He said the search for the escapees is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the police in //Karas Region last week arrested a man for fraudulently trying to cash a cheque of N$200 000.
//Karas Regional Crime Investigations Coordinator Commissioner Rudolf Isaak told New Era the suspect was arrested last week Thursday after he tried to cash a cheque believed to belong to his employer.
Isaak said the suspect, who is an employee at a lodge in Kalkrand, allegedly took a cheque from his employer’s chequebook and tried to cash it at Bank Windhoek in Keetmanshoop.
When the bank manager called the owner of the cheque as per procedures, he realized that one of his cheques was missing, leading to the arrest of the suspect on the spot.
He has since been handed over to the Kalkrand police who are further investigating the case.