Pretoria - Two police officials aged 37 and 31, attached to the Kuruman crime prevention unit are scheduled to appear before the Kuruman Magistrate’s Court facing charges of armed robbery, attempted murder and kidnapping.
Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase, spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation [Hawks] said the sergeant and constable were arrested earlier on Monday by the Hawks serious organised crime investigation team, with the assistance of police tactical response team and crime intelligence unit.
“The officials are implicated in a syndicate that allegedly robbed motorists’ cash, cell phones and other valuables at gunpoint along the N14 near Kuruman between July and August 2020,” said Nkwalase.
“The matter was referred to the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in August 2020, after complaints were reported at the local police station. The Hawks probe revealed that the alleged perpetrators were members of South African Police Services.”
During their arrest of the duo on Monday morning, a white Volkswagen Polo, which was allegedly used in the commission of the crime was confiscated.
Earlier this year a member of the SAPS was arrested in connection to a spate of robberies in Mpumalanga.
In May, the SAPS in Mpumalanga said they had noted a spate of business robberies in the Volksrust area, including the April 10 business robbery where a syndicate helped themselves to cellphones worth more than R150 000.
At the time, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the 40-year-old police constable was arrested after investigations pointed to his involvement with a group of five business robbers.
“Reports indicate that the area of Volksrust abruptly experienced an uptrend of business robberies where cases were registered and subsequently investigated.”
IOL