R6m loot ‘splashed on car, shoes and perfume’

Part of the R6 million allegedly stolen from Ongwediva businessman Shamil Dirk was reportedly spent on a Golf 6 GTI, a plot, clothes, expensive shoes, iPhones and Gucci perfume.

The money, all of which was South African rands, was allegedly stolen from Dirk’s car, which was parked inside the yard of his Ongwediva home in March last year.

Dirk runs transportation company Samco Import and Export.

Henoka Theofilus, Wilbard Nangombe, Frans Kutyowa, Jafet Haikela, Liborus Mwateketa and Aludhilu Shoopala were listed by the police as the suspects in the case.

They are accused of conniving with an employee of the company, who was arrested after the robbery.

The suspects have been charged with theft from a motor vehicle and disguising the unlawful origin of property.

According to court documents reviewed by The Namibian, Henoka Theofilus was arrested on 6 April 2023 at Okatope in the Oshana region.

He was allegedly apprehended while driving a Golf GTI that belonged to Lisias Amalwa.

Theofilus is accused of pocketing R400 000 of the stolen money, while the car was reportedly bought for R260 000.
Theofilus denied that the car was his.

“That car was given to me by the owner to take it to the north,” Theofilus is quoted as saying in court documents.

In the car, according to the court documents, was a pair of Vialli jeans with a price tag of N$1 800, a pair of Cavalli shoes valued at N$6 000 and Gucci perfume, which cost N$2 800, as well as two iPhones.

Theofilus, however, denied that the items were bought with stolen money.

He said he had saved N$20 000 and kept it at his uncle’s house, the court documents show.

However, the police claim Theofilus admitted that he stole R6 million and had bought the car with some of the stolen money.

He told the court he has a robbery case at Oshakati from 2015 and a housebreaking case from 2021, for which he is out on bail of N$4 000.

In addition, Theofilus has a case of malicious damage to property in 2011, for which he is out on bail of N$1 000.
He also has a housebreaking and theft of a motor vehicle case from 2022 and is out on bail of N$10 000 in connection with that.

Theofilus has another case of theft at Ondangwa and is out on bail of N$30 000 in this case.

Another suspect, Kutyowa, is accused of buying a plot for N$16 000 at Omakange in the Omusati region’s Ruacana constituency.

However, Kutyowa denied buying the plot.

He is also accused of fuelling a vehicle at a petrol station before proceeding to buy the plot.

Kutyowa is further accused of giving R20 000 to a family member of his after the commission of the offence. On 31 March last year, he also allegedly gave a state witness R5 000 in cash.

THE BAG

The bag in which Dirk had put the money was allegedly found in Kutyowa’s room, as well as R400 and a further R1 000 was recovered from his vehicle.

The police said cellphones were confiscated from police holding cells where some of the suspects were kept. Text messages found on the phones are linked to the suspects and the commission of the offence.

Kutyowa told the court that he derived his income from two tuck shops he operates at Oshakati and Swakopmund.

He also said he has a part-time job as a borehole driller, generating about N$5 000 per month.

Dirk refused to comment when he was contacted for comment last year.

New Era reported in December last year that Haikela, who was granted bail of N$10 000, claimed Dirk was lying about the amount stolen.

“Who keeps such a large amount of money in a car?”

The case is ongoing.

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