Innie Hof Thailand trip scams

Police have arrested two women who are allegedly behind a R2 million holiday scam in Thailand.

According to police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie, the suspects, aged 59 and 53, were arrested in the Strand on Friday.

In June, the Daily Voice reported that a large group of aunts and uncles who had paid for a dream vacation to Thailand were left stranded after their agent allegedly absconded with more than R2 million.

A group of about 80 people were informed a week before their long-awaited departure that they would no longer go.

At the time, Sharon Lategan, from Strand, said it was a group of 10 people in her area periodthey were all over sixty years old and paid R26,000 each to Prudence Listopad of Angelique’s Tours.

She said they trusted Prudence: “She organized successful boat trips to Namibia and people came back impressed.”

She said they paid for the trip in December 2023 and received their itinerary in February 2024, and she even Googled all the hotels to make sure they were real.

As the June 20 departure date approached, Prudence told them to start packing, even though they had not yet received any tickets.

But then Prudence dropped the bombshell that the trip was canceled and the concerned group called a meeting.

Sharon said: “During the meeting, a person claiming to be a lawyer said we were not going to Thailand or getting our money back.”

When contacted, Prudence declined to provide details on why the trip was bombed.

Pojie says following an investigation by the Provincial Commercial Crimes Investigation Unit, two women were arrested in the Strand on Friday “in connection with a fraud involving approximately R1.9 million for a promised trip to Thailand.”

He said: “The investigation revealed that between June 1, 2022 and July 30, 2024, a total of 80 victims saw an advertisement on social media platforms for travel to Thailand.

“The notice states that each person should pay an amount of R26,000 which will include travel and accommodation costs.

“When the victims realized that the trip would not go ahead, they reported it to various police stations across the country as far as Gauteng, the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.

“The cases were heard centrally in the Western Cape and, upon completion, the suspects were interviewed and were unable to provide a satisfactory explanation of what happened to the money.”

He said the suspects would appear in the Strand Magistrates’ Court today on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering.