The two fled their lavish rented mansion in Hyde Park, Sandton, in a chaotic and dramatic fashion on 27 March and were finally apprehended in Tanzania.
News24 reported that the South African Crime Intelligence tracked and trailed Bester and Dr Nandipha. The two criminal lovebirds were moving around with Mozambican national Zakara Alberto, who was allegedly helping them flee.
After Bester and Dr Nandipha vanished, South Africa contacted the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), which issued a red notice alert. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
The active search for the two now involved Interpol, South Africa’s Crime Intelligence Unit, Tanzanian police and a private security company, Fidelity ADT, assisting SA cops.
Fidelity ADT, which had dangled a R100 000 reward on Bester’s head, revealed that Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha fled to Zimbabwe after their exposure. Many people called the company, tipping them on information about the criminal duo.
The Thabo Bester Zimbabwean Mystery: Dr Nandipha Bought A R1.35 Million Car On Credit And Dumped It In Zimbabwe
Because of the tipoffs, the investigators identified Bester and Dr Nandipha’s car and tracked it through CCTV. They drove their black SUV across Tanzania and passed through the capital Dar-es-Salaam.
Bester, Dr Nandipha and Alberto then camped in Arusha and left on Friday, seemingly heading towards the Kenyan border, oblivious that they were being monitored.
When they were 10 km from the Kenyan border on Friday night, the police pounced on them before dragging them to Arusha.
Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha had several unstamped passports with different names. Bester was now posing as a United States citizen.
Head of Diplomacy in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation Clayson Monyela confirmed that Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha would be deported to South Africa to answer their case in court
Update: Extradition does not apply in the #ThaboBester & #NandiphaMagudumana matter. It's a straightforward deportation from Tanzania. They entered that country illegally. Immigration laws kick in. https://t.co/PgF2mDbUwX
— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) April 8, 2023
