THE police have arrested a 29-year-old man from Qoaling, Maseru after he allegedly took off with a 52-year-old woman’s vehicle under the pretext that he was the head of a government unit responsible for hiring cars.

Sen Insp Molefe said the man, Mothusi Ratiea, allegedly took the victim to the Royal Palace purporting to work there.

“It is reported that on 15 January 2016, Ratiea approached the woman claiming to be in charge of a government car hire department and asked her to rent out the vehicle to the government,” he said.

“They both went to the Royal Palace offices where the suspect took out fake papers from one of the offices and they both filled them out.

“He took the vehicle and drove off with it until it was confiscated by the police earlier this month. It is further reported that he used to send short message services (SMS) to the woman instructing her to collect her money from one of the commercial banks.

“After failing to get the money, the woman reported the matter to the police who later arrested the man.”

Sen Insp Molefe said the suspect was unable to raise both the bail and a surety fee which were set at M10 000, adding that he would appear in court on Tuesday.