Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has welcomed the conviction of former Western Cape provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer.
The Western Cape High Court on Monday found Lamoer guilty of corruption after he pleaded guilty to one of the corruption charges he faced.
Lamoer, along with tow truck company owner Salim Dawjee, and former police brigadiers Darius van der Ross, Sharon Govender and her husband Kolin Govender, faced 109 charges of corruption, racketeering and money laundering involving R1.6m.
All of them initially pleaded not guilty.
On February 8, Lamoer, who served in the police service for over 35 years, made a series of admissions in court papers. He said he befriended Dawjee more than 25 years ago when he was stationed at Manenberg police station.
Between December 2011 and September 2013, he made loans from Dawjee with the agreement that they would be paid back "on request or after my retirement from SAPS".
He admits that he "wrongfully and unlawfully agreed to accept and/or accepted from accused 1 to 3 the gratifications (in the form of loans) ... for my benefit and/or for the benefit of any other person". (Accused 2 is Towbars Cape CC and accused 3 is Towbars King CC, companies owned by Dawjee).
Mbalula said: "The conviction sends a strong message that no one is above the law. It also instills confidence in the country's criminal justice system that criminals will face the might of the law.
"We need police who must understand that their job is a calling, that they have a duty to serve and protect people of the Republic of South Africa."