Two card cloners have been sentenced to a combined 18 years in jail by a Durban court, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Thursday.
The Durban commercial crime court sentenced Luyanda Sapho, 34, to eight years, and Kinen Sithole, 33, to 10 years on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Natasha Kara said.
They were convicted of 15 counts of contravening the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-related Information (Rica) Act, two counts of violating the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, five counts of fraud, and one of theft. Sithole was also convicted of forgery.
They used various cloned bank cards, some of which were embossed or encoded with Sithole’s surname and initials, to book into hotels and purchase goods.
Some of the things Sapho had bought were found at Sithole’s home.
A total of 22 witnesses were called during their trial.
KwaZulu-Natal director of public prosecutions Moipone Noko said there had been an increase in such crimes and the sentences should serve as a warning to would-be fraudsters. — News24