Pretoria – Acting national head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Siphosihle Nkosi has welcomed the investigation into the alleged criminal conduct by a female captain in the Hawks, attached to the Crimes Against the State (CATS) Section.
The Hawks captain is this morning scheduled to appear before the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court, facing a charge of corruption.
Over the weekend, IOL reported that police in Limpopo announced that they had arrested the Hawks captain, based in Pretoria, for corruption amounting to R250 000 in Bela-Bela, Limpopo.
The 52-year-old captain allegedly told a complainant that there were fraudulent activities in his bank account and she needed R250 000 so that she could not freeze the bank account.
Reacting to the news of the arrest, Nkosi said all members of the Hawks are expected to act beyond reproach.
“Members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI often referred to as the Hawks) are expected to always act beyond reproach and conduct themselves within the bounds of the law,” Nkosi said.
“The DPCI strongly condemns such acts which tarnishes the image of the Directorate and will ensure that necessary departmental processes including suspension from duty as prescribed by the South African Police Service Act are undertaken.”
Spokesperson for police in Limpopo, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, said the Hawks captain was arrested in an operation on Friday.
“It is alleged that the captain who is attached to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations at Pretoria Central, Gauteng province, had on Saturday, 10 December 2022, approached the complainant and informed him that there were fraudulent activities happening in his bank account and therefore she is going to freeze his bank accounts.
“She then demanded a gratification of R250 000 in exchange for this not to happen. The matter was reported to the police who then commenced with investigation. A sting operation was conducted at Bela-Bela whereby the alleged suspect was arrested after receiving the money from the complainant.”
IOL