POLOKWANE- Three Police officers aged between 35 and 38 were arrested on Friday 30 September 2022 on charges of corruption committed in the Zaaiplaas policing area outside Groblersdal in July.
The three constables stationed at the Zaaiplaas Police Station were arrested after they failed open a case and register illicit cigarettes that they confiscated at a local filling station on Tuesday 12 July 2022.The police officers instead put the owner on the back of the police van, drove off with him and later dropped him in the bushes.They then left with the 04 boxes of illicit cigarettes.
The Provincial Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit arrested the suspects in Polokwane after investigations indicated that they never registered the case and the cigarettes.The three officers,Vusi Sepoto, (35), Mulase Jakonea Lamola,(37), and Malose Oscar Makhafola,(38), will appear again in the Groblersdal Magistrate’s on 7 October for bail application
Meanwhile, A 27-year-old man impersonating a police officer, was also arrested for corruption after he allegedly demanded bribe to help drop charges against a man suspected of rape. The suspect demanded an amount of R7 600 to negotiate with the prosecutor.The suspect contacted the complainant again and demanded an additional amount of R2 400.The matter was reported to the police and that resulted in the arrest of the suspect.His case was postponed to 04 October for bail application
The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the arrests and said “no mercy will be shown to SAPS members who act in a manner that is dishonest and tarnish the image of the organisation.
