Pienaar - Four police constables were arrested on Thursday for allegedly stealing groceries and selling them to a woman, Mpumalanga police said.
The officers, aged between 30 and 34, face charges of theft, possession of suspected stolen property, and defeating the ends of justice, Colonel Leonard Hlathi said.
On Wednesday, residents in Pienaar, near Nelspruit, reported to police that two police bakkies Ä driven by police officers Ä were off-loading groceries at a house in the area.
Police drove there to investigate the matter.
“Police went inside the house and found groceries with a woman believed to be the owner of the house.
“They interrogated her and she told them that the groceries were brought by four police officials,” Hlathi said.
The woman told police that the officers demanded R2500 in exchange for the groceries, valued at about R4000.
The woman told the constables that she had no money. They told her that they would come back later to pick up the money.
The woman was arrested on Wednesday for being in possession of stolen property.
“The groceries are believed to be taken from shops, owned by foreign nationals, during the recent unrest at Pienaar and Kanyamazane,” Hlathi said.
The officers handed themselves over to police on Thursday.
The five were expected to appear in the Kabokweni Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Sapa