The Hawks, South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, have arrested four police officers accused of pocketing cash recovered from a cash-in-transit (CIT) heist, along with a senior policewoman who allegedly made a fraudulent relocation allowance claim.
The arrests highlight the commitment of the Hawks to rooting out corruption within the ranks of law enforcement agencies.
According to Maj-Gen Mokgadi Bokaba, the head of the Hawks in the Free State province, she expressed her disappointment in the officers’ behavior, emphasizing that betrayal of their oath is unacceptable.
The Hawks remain dedicated to combating corruption and upholding the principles of integrity and accountability.
In the first incident, four members from the Kroonstad K9 unit and Zamdela police were apprehended by the Hawks’ Welkom serious corruption investigation unit.
These officers are alleged to have pocketed R1 million that had been recovered from individuals who had taken money during a CIT heist in Sasolburg in 2022.
Instead of registering the recovered funds properly, they kept the money for themselves.
The four suspects will face charges of theft, defeating the ends of justice, and money laundering in the Sasolburg magistrate’s court.
Additionally, the arrest of a fifth suspect, who is also a member of the police service, is imminent, further highlighting the commitment to thorough investigations and holding individuals accountable for their actions.
In a separate case, a female officer was arrested in Vereeniging for fraud.
It is alleged that she fraudulently claimed a relocation allowance after being promoted to a lieutenant-colonel post in Kestell in 2012, despite not relocating.
She purportedly traveled in an official vehicle between Bethlehem and Kestell for work purposes and later submitted a claim for resettlement costs amounting to R19,000.
Such costs are typically provided to members who have been appointed to a position outside their primary place of residence.
The officer will face charges of fraud and will appear before the Kestell magistrate’s court on July 12.
Source: TIMESLIVE
