Kimberley - Three Northern Cape police officers, as well as a former policeman, were arrested on Wednesday morning after reporting for duty.
They face charges of theft and corruption after allegedly accepting a bottle of expensive whisky as a bribe.
Sergeants Nazeem Newman and Frida Mofokeng (both 41), Constable Orapeleng Mosala, 38, and Eugene Valla, 34, who resigned from the SAPS a few months ago, made a brief appearance in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday afternoon following their arrests at the Kimberley police station.
They were released on bail ranging from a warning to R500 each.
According to the charge sheet, Newman, Mofokeng and Valla are facing charges of corruption, theft and accepting a benefit in the form of a bottle of whisky.
They will return to the Kimberley Regional Court next month after the State did not oppose the release of Newman and Valla on R500 bail each. Mofokeng was released on a warning.
Mosala, who is being tried separately, faces one charge of theft and was released on bail of R100 on condition that he return to court next week.
Their arrests came after an investigation that spanned nearly a year following an incident at the Horseshoe Motel on November 17 2015 where it is alleged that the first three accused received a bottle of whisky while property to the value of R250 was also allegedly stolen.
Northern Cape head of communication Brigadier Masebueng Mochologi, confirmed the arrests to a large media contingent that gathered outside the Kimberley police station yesterday morning, adding that it followed a “long and thorough investigation”.
While she was not willing to go into the details of the charges, the police were convinced that they had a solid case against the accused.
“Two sergeants and two constables, one of whom resigned from the SAPS, were arrested this morning on charges of theft and corruption,” she told reporters shortly after three of the four accused reported for duty yesterday morning.
“The arrests follow a long intelligence-driven operation which took almost a year to reach this point. It cannot be allowed that those who are meant to be fighting crime are the ones committing illegal offences and we hope that their arrests send a strong message that we will not tolerate criminal activity from our members.
“The three men and one woman will appear in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court this morning (yesterday) and while I am not willing to discuss the nature of the charges, we are confident that the case against them is watertight.”
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