Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has condemned corruption within the police ranks after four officers were found on the wrong side of the law. 

Hadebe was reacting to the arrest of four officers alongside a civilian in Mpumalanga, in connection with a house robbery. 

Provincial corporate communication and liaison head, Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba, said the suspects, aged between 29 and 41, were arrested during the night in Lydenburg following a police response to a house robbery in Mashishing. The robbery occurred on Thursday night. 

“According to preliminary reports, the victims, all Ethiopian nationals, were asleep when they were ambushed by a group of armed suspects,” Mashaba said. 

He said it is reported the suspects used three vehicles: a grey double-cab Toyota bakkie with Limpopo registration plates, a marked SAPS VW Golf GTI belonging to the Polokwane Flying Squad and the third vehicle, believed to be a Suzuki or Avanza, which fled the scene carrying several boxes of suspected illicit cigarettes and an undisclosed amount of cash.

“Three male officers and one female officer, attached to various Limpopo SAPS units, were arrested on the scene, along with a civilian accomplice. Both the marked police vehicle and the Toyota bakkie were confiscated,” Mashaba said. 

“Further investigation led to the recovery of boxes of illicit cigarettes valued at approximately R1.5 million and cash amounting to about R950,000. Police also discovered that the registration plates on the seized vehicles had been altered with black tape in an apparent attempt to conceal their identities. Ammunition was also recovered at the scene.

“Two of the arrested officers were found in possession of their official service firearms, which were subsequently seized.” 

Mashaba said that all five suspects remain in custody and are expected to appear before the Mashishing Magistrate’s Court on Monday, October 13, on charges of house robbery. 

He said additional charges may follow as investigations progress. 

“The case has since been transferred to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) for further handling,” Mashaba said. 

Lieutenant General Hadebe condemned corrupt activities within the SAPS ranks. 

“The members have since been suspended in line with Discipline Regulations 2016 and the matter will be expedited departmentally,” Hadebe said.

“No member will be allowed to tarnish the image of the organisation under our watch. Any law enforcement official who engages himself or herself in corrupt activities will be subjected to the Criminal Justice System, and the law will take its full course.

“We wish to reiterate that acts of criminality and corruption within the ranks of the police will not be tolerated. The arrest of these members will send a strong message that anyone engaging in corrupt elements will swap their blue uniform for orange,” Hadebe added.

Meanwhile, last month, a 51-year-old Limpopo police sergeant from Haenertsburg SAPS was arrested for allegedly stealing and selling two chainsaws recovered during a crime prevention operation on March 15, 2024. The chainsaws were found in an abandoned vehicle in Mankweng and registered at the station. The sergeant faces charges of theft and defeating the administration of justice.

In another incident, two SAPS Mecklenburg officers, aged 32 and 41, were summoned to court for theft and defeating justice. On June 6, 2024, they allegedly seized 45 cartons of illicit cigarettes and over R7,000 from a foreign-owned shop in Malipsdrift, without arresting the owner or registering the items. A foreign national’s inquiry led to a case being referred to the Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit.

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za

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