A convicted fraudster wanted by the Portuguese government will on Monday appear before the Verulam Magistrate’s Court after he was arrested in Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban, at the weekend.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) pounced on Joao Manuel de Oliveira Rendeiro last week after he absconded from Portugal after being convicted on a multi-million dollar fraud case and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment before he escaped.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the development came after the Head of the Judicial Police of Portugal, Luis Neves, on 24 November 2021 alerted SAPS National Commissioner General Khehla John Sitole during a bilateral meeting at the 89th Interpol General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey.

General Sitole committed to tracking and tracing the fugitive after it emerged that he may be hiding in South Africa.

Naidoo said: “Members from the Interpol NCB in Pretoria, acting on an Interpol Red Notice, traced the fugitive to a location in Umhlanga Rocks where he was arrested at 7am…”.

The fugitive was initially scheduled to make his first appearance in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday as part of his extradition process. The matter has since been moved to the Verulam Magistrate’s Court.

The SAPS said the Portuguese authority had welcomed the news of de Oliveira Rendeiro’s arrest and sent words of gratitude and praise to the National Commissioner and the SAPS team for speedily arresting him.

Source: South African Government News Agency