Pretoria – Police constables Nala Bonginkosi and Paile Davies have appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on allegations of theft of fuel from vehicle they had impounded.
Gauteng provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Lloyd Ramovha said the theft incident happened on the night of May 25.
“It was reported that on the day of the incident, the constables stopped a bakkie towing a tanker trailer with 2 750 litres of diesel along the R59. The driver was then requested to provide proof of purchase as well as a Flammable Goods Permit,” Ramovha said.
“When this (permit) could not be produced on the spot, the trailer was towed to Brackendowns police station. The owner was arrested and released by the court on Friday, 27 May 2022.
“When he got back to the station, he reportedly found a near empty tanker with just over 1 000 litres in it,” Ramovha said.
The case was registered at the same station, and the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation ensued, which resulted in the constables being summoned to appear in court for theft and corruption charges.
The court postponed the case to November 16, to allow for further investigation.
Earlier this year, four police officers and two petrol attendants were released on R500 bail each after they were arrested in connection with petrol fraud in Coligny, North West.
North West police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Funani said the six appeared in the Coligny Magistrate’s Court where the case was postponed for further investigations.
The six were arrested on 300 counts of fraud.
“It is alleged that the police officers colluded with petrol attendants between January and December 2020, and defrauded the SAPS by using State-owned motor vehicle fuel cards to pay for fuel that was never filled in the said vehicles. They would then claim cash amounts and share it among themselves,” she said.
“It was later established that some of the claims were processed while the vehicles were at the SAPS garage for repairs. Subsequent to these irregularities, investigations were conducted and led to the arrest of these members, aged between 43 and 56. Furthermore, two petrol attendants, aged 38 and 58, who have been turned into State witnesses, were arrested.”
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