Windhoek: A wave of digital scams and a million-dollar armed robbery marked a weekend of crime across the country, leaving victims stripped of a vehicle, high-end electronics, and personal savings. The incidents were confirmed in the latest weekend crime report released by the Head of the Namibian Police Force Public Relations Division, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi.
According to Namibia Press Agency, five suspects targeted a driver at the intersection of Robert Mugabe Avenue and the A1 Dr Hage Geingob Freeway in Windhoek on Friday. Armed with a pistol and knives, they robbed the 31-year-old man of his VW Polo TSI, an iPhone 16, an Apple Watch, and N$7 000 in cash, totaling N$1 million in stolen goods. The police later recovered the vehicle, abandoned and partially stripped, in the Lafrenz industrial area.
Additionally, a 19-year-old man in Klein Windhoek fell victim to an SMS scam, losing N$11 000 worth of gaming equipment after handing it to a ride-hailing driver (Yango) in response to a fraudulent SMS. The incident occurred on Friday at approximately 12h53 after the complainant had advertised items for sale on Facebook, leading to a phone call from a male suspect who expressed interest in purchasing the items.
"The suspect arranged for a Yango driver to collect the items and claimed that a payment of N$11 000 would be made via internet banking from Bank Windhoek. The complainant received an SMS notification from number 92222 confirming receipt of N$11 000. Based on this, the victim handed the items to the Yango driver. When he tried to withdraw the money at an ATM, the transaction failed," Shikwambi said.
The complainant contacted Bank Windhoek and was informed that the number 92222 is not linked to the bank, indicating he had been scammed. The stolen items include one Xbox Series S, two controllers, and gaming headsets. No recovery has been made, and the suspect, an unidentified male, remains at large. The police investigation is ongoing.
In a separate scam incident at Etanga village in the Kunene Region, a 59-year-old man was defrauded of N$4 500 after disclosing his bank card details to a caller falsely claiming to represent MTC and offering him a N$30 000 prize. According to the police, on Saturday at approximately 10h24, the suspect contacted the complainant and claimed the complainant had won N$30 000 due to frequent mobile recharges.
"The suspect thereafter asked for the complainant's bank card numbers on the backside of the card and was given the information. After some time, the complainant received a notification of OTPs, and an amount of N$4 500 was withdrawn from the account. Police investigations continue," Shikwambi said.