WALVIS BAY – The police at Walvis Bay are on the hunt for two men who vanished yesterday with an unspecified but substantial sum of money.
However, two other suspects linked to the disappearance of the money that is said to run into “millions” were arrested.
The Namibian Police Crime Coordinator for the Erongo Region, Deputy Commissioner Ottilie Kashupuulwa confirmed the incident yesterday afternoon and told New Era the two suspects arrested yesterday are security guards from the Namibian Protection Services (NPS) company that in 2013 had N$4.3 million stolen from its security care by one of its guards.
The two security guards apparently collected safety deposit boxes containing money from two companies at Walvis Bay and were tasked to transfer the money to different banks. The procedure is normally very “delicate” and should be carried out within a certain timeframe after the money is collected, said a source.
However, the two security guards took longer than expected to collect and drop off the money, which raised suspicion. Their security company bosses then alerted the police of a possible robbery.
According to Kashupuulwa, speculation was rife that the two security guards had planned the theft as they had a getaway car waiting for them.
“We believe that the suspects handed over the cash to their two accomplices who were waiting for them with the getaway car before abandoning the NPS vehicle they used to collect the money,” she explained.
However they were arrested before they could meet with their accomplices who fled with the money.
The vehicle was later found abandoned in the lagoon area behind a church.
A police team was seen searching the vehicle and vicinity for any possible leads and the money.
Kashupuulwa said she couldn’t reveal more information as they were still questioning the two suspects. “We do not know how much money was stolen and cannot also reveal the names of the companies the money belonged to, but we will have more information available tomorrow,” she explained.
This is the second time in the space of four months that money in transfer by NPS guards is stolen.
In December last year the police at Walvis Bay foiled a similar incident when a security guard of the company stole N$4.3 million in cash and cheques.
However crack detective work by the police led to the arrest of NPS security guard Mutatubi Sylvester Kopani and his accomplice a Malawian witchdoctor.
Their case is still ongoing. When contacted yesterday, NPS said they could not comment on the theft as the police investigation was still underway.
By Eveline de Klerk