And this fella holding up the traffic in the middle of the road
We made our way back to PE via Sundays River which has the most amazing sand dunes
As I went to put my card in a chap came up behind me and said I need to press this button and that button and distracted my attention while his buddy took my card - it was all over with in about 10 seconds and I didn't even realise my card was gone. Unfortunately for these ne'er do wells the place was being staked out by a private security firm retained by the bank. They'd been keeping watch and already spotted these fellas as being up to no good. Within seconds they jumped on this chap and wrestled him to the ground and 'cuffed him - he had my credit card in his hand - I was still standing at the ATM!!
This is cuprit - in the white t shirt
Contemplating his fate
And this is him being taken away - apparently he'll get 3 years in the big house.
They operate in gangs of 3 or 4 and hang around ATM's waiting for likely prospects to come along. Now I feel a bit of a mug falling for this trick 'cos I think I'm a pretty savvy traveler but these fellas were swift and slick - all over with in seconds. And I know they had seen my PIN so they would have rinsed my account before I'd have been able to report it.
The chap in the red cap is Jose - he's in charge of the operation - he travels all over SA doing this and is pretty successful at it - the team get a bonus for each prosecution - unfortunately he says that a lot of them fail because money changes hands down at the nick and some evidence goes "missing"
We invited them to the bar across the road and bought them a couple of beers - money well spent!
Hope that the next few days are a little less eventful.
Keep smiling you two - the memory will fade as you enjoy the rest of your trip :)). Loving the ellys, they're big bu**ers aren't they! Have a good flight Cp x
ReplyDeleteWhat a nightmare, but glad it ended well for you. As you say, a couple of beers well invested! X
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