Johannesburg - Eighteen police officers and two home affairs officials found themselves on the opposite end of the law after they were allegedly linked to corruption at the Botswana border post.
A sting operation and crime intelligence gathering between the SAPS and the Hawks led to their arrests on Wednesday, following accusations that they allowed people to bypass standard procedure when crossing the border in exchange for bribes.
Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said they received information about the group’s involvement in corrupt activities at the Kopfontein border post and launched a manhunt for them.
Sixteen officials, including 15 of the officers and a home affairs official, were then arrested on Wednesday morning, while the rest were taken into custody later in the day.
Mulaudzi said the four others were arrested at their homes around Mahikeng last night as they were off or on rest days during the initial arrest earlier in the day.
“These officials were found to be allowing persons and vehicles to enter and leave the country unsearched and without demanding to see necessary documentation. The suspects’ shenanigans were revealed during a crime intelligence operation in the area,” Mulaudzi said.
Some of the officers were stationed at the border post while others were from the vehicle identification unit in Rustenburg and the Swartruggens detective services.
The officers and the home affairs officials are suspected of having carried out the corrupt acts between June 2014 and March this year.
They are expected to appear in the Zeerust Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where they will be charged with fraud and corruption.
The head of the directorate for priority crime investigation, Lieutenant-General Mthandazo Ntlemeza, has labelled the arrest an “embarrassment to the country”.
He warned other corrupt officials that they would also be facing the full might of the law if they are found to be involved in crime.
This was not the first time government officials had been accused of being involved in corruption.
In July, Elisha Matsipa, the assistant director at immigration in Pretoria, was also arrested for the crime.
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The Star