The Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) recently detained nine suspects for the theft of 71 million kwanzas through ATM thefts, in the country's capital, Luanda.
According to the Director of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the SIC, Chief Superintendent Fernando de Carvalho, he informed that most of the victims are elderly people, and that the suspects are mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they carried out these criminal actions for more than eight months.
"Two elements of the said criminal association were impersonating the ATMs as if they were going to collect values, they leaned against the queues and kept an eye out for those citizens with weaknesses in using the ATMs“, said the officer.
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It was revealed that one of the elements of this criminal association, after harming several people, collected large sums in kwanzas and fled to Portugal, as well as a man who tried to bribe the SIC-Luanda investigator, with the amount of one million kwanzas, so that release the leader of the group.
"The criminals, when noticing that someone was unable to carry out a banking operation, offered to help and at that exact moment, while one helped, another was attentive to the password on the card... already in possession of the victim's card, the robbers quickly changed the card for another one from the same bank that he handed over to the victim, who, without realizing it, thought it was a normal operation and went home“, highlighted Fernando de Carvalho.
The Chief Superintendent also stressed that through the values, they withdraw or transfer to their accounts, and the division was equitable.
"From the investigative actions around those involved and the number of registered complaints, it was found that an amount of around 71 million kwanzas was damaged, phased out from the victims’ accounts”, adding that a good part of the stolen money was used in the purchase of several vehicles, “Toyota brands, model Prado TXL, Hyundai Santa Fé, Kia model K5, plasma TV, air conditioners, mobile phones and home furniture", finished
