Police believe they have compelling evidence against four men who have been arrested for allegedly stalking victims on an LGBTQ dating website, luring them for a rendezvous at lodges in upmarket areas before robbing them of valuables.
Their alleged modus operandi is for one of the accused persons to chat up male victims on Grindr, which is regarded as one of the largest dating sites for members of the LGBTQ community.
After victim’s confidence was won, dates are arranged at lodges. The victim gets drawn into the room by one of the accused.
Once inside, they get bound and gagged by all four men, before being robbed. One of the main objectives of the accused is apparently to gain access to the victims’ cellphone banking apps.
Police have since interviewed three men who were allegedly robbed by the accused, but one of the victims elected not to pursue the matter further at this stage.
All four suspects, Khumbulani Ngubane, 40, Celempilo Nkomo, 29, Nkanyiso Ndebele, 28, and Mzwemvelo Ngubane, 28, appeared briefly in the Durban Magistrate’s Court this week.
They each face two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery.
During the session in court on Monday, State prosecutor Denise Perumal requested a week’s adjournment to allow further investigations to be conducted.
Presiding magistrate Ashwin Singh granted the request.
The first robbery happened at a guest house in La Lucia on July 14. Once the victim entered a room at the establishment, all four men pounced on him.
He was assaulted, tied with ropes and the robbers used sellotape to gag him. His laptop, cellphone, shoes and R1 200 in cash were taken.
The victim was also forced to share his banking app details before he was left bound and gagged in the room.
He managed to escape and alerted the police about the incident and also shared that the robbers were travelling in a VW Jetta.
The car was spotted on August 2 by security officers and police were called to the scene.
Police inspected the vehicle and found ropes and Sellotape in the car.
The accused then informed police that they had left two men bound and gagged at a lodge in uMhlanga.
When police arrived at the lodge, they found only one victim in the room. The other escaped and has since opted not to press charges.
The victim in the room confirmed that he was robbed by the four men who were arrested, and the La Lucia victim also pointed out the accused during an ID parade.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE