It’s always awkward when a mate owes you a small amount of money – you want to ask for it back but do you really want to be THAT friend?

It’s an altogether different story when R6 million is found in the back of a bakkie in Beaufort West and no one comes forward to claim it. This has remained the case of the best part of seven months, the bakkie’s driver and passenger saying they had no idea who the money belonged to and they were just driving a car as instructed from Jozi to Cape Town.

Yes that does sound a little fishy with more from IOL:

Asset Investigation Task Team investigator Charmaine van Vuuren said in an affidavit the cash had been found in June last year when two police dog unit members on duty on the N1 stopped the bakkie. One noticed what appeared to be false compartments at the back of the vehicle.

They found R5.99m in cash, wrapped in plastic, hidden in a false compartment.

The driver and his passenger, Simphiwe Ndlela and Mark Wright, were arrested on charges of suspected stolen goods and money laundering.

Ndlela refused to make a statement, but Wright told police he had been instructed by someone, whose name he could not remember, to deliver the vehicle to Cape Town.

The vehicle and petrol money had been handed over to him at Sandton City and he had asked Ndlela to accompany him.

He said he had no knowledge of the cash in the vehicle.

Police also found R30 000 in cash in Wright’s possession.

Nothing quite like playing dumb there Simphiwe and Mark, if the coppers believe that they’ll believe just about anything.

As it stands both the money and the bakkie are set to be seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU).

[source:iol]