Two women, aged 33 and 45 years, were arrested and have appeared in the Welkom Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding the pharmacy they worked at.
According to Lt. Col Zweli Mohobeleli of the Hawks, the two worked at the pharmacy from February 2015 to June 2020.
“They defrauded the pharmacy and stole cash and cosmetics. Their manager noticed shortages and started to investigate. He discovered that both cashiers were selling items and doing false voids after the customer had left. This made it look as if the transaction was invalid and the item was still in store when, in fact, the customer had paid and left with the item. They would thereafter pocket the money. Several such transactions resulted in the pharmacy losing money to the tune of R270 000,” says Mohobeleli.
He says further investigation revealed that cosmetics received from a merchant were neither put on the shelves nor read into the system.
“It was later confirmed that, during the lockdown, one of the suspects instructed the merchant to deliver cosmetics at her place of residence instead of the pharmacy,” he says.
The matter was reported to the Welkom Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team who collected evidence and presented the case before the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The suspects were arrested in Welkom and Johannesburg.
