DURBAN – A Somalian shopkeeper says he was robbed of R37 000 by two police officers.
CCTV footage of the robbery was aired on eNCA on Sunday during a weekly crime and safety segment with crime activist Yusuf Abramjee.
In the video shared with The Mercury, two men wearing police uniforms with hats and masks are seen speaking to the shopkeeper after he comes out of a small doorway connecting the back counter to the store.
In the footage, while the first suspect keeps the shopkeeper busy out of view of the camera, the second suspect is seen putting his hand in a cash box under a counter. He then pulls out what looks like a wad of cash and puts it into his pocket. He then busies himself by looking around and moving a chair.
In the weekly news segment Abramjee said he was approached by the Somalian shopkeeper from Durban last week with the footage and asked for advice on what to do.
“He claimed that two uniformed policemen came into his shop. They then said they were looking for certain items. They went to the till and allegedly stole R37 000 in cash,” he said.
He said the shopkeeper was not arrested but taken by the suspects and let go.
Abramjee said the shopkeeper was advised to immediately open charges with SAPS.
In an interview between Abramjee and national police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe, she said the management of the SAPS have seen the video and were investigating its contents.
“Of concern to the management is allegations that a large sum of money was taken from the store. We are at this stage investigating and studying our records to determine where this incident took place,” she said.
Mathe urged the shop owner to contact the nearest police station to open and register a case of theft.
In raw footage of the interview, Mathe said members of the SAPS are always expected to uphold and enforce the law as mandated by the constitution and the police code of conduct.
She said SAPS does not condone criminality within its ranks.
“In instances where members are involved in corrupt activities investigations are conducted and due processes are followed. Internal departmental steps are always taken and they run parallel with criminal investigations which also run parallel with IPID investigations. Where there is a guilty verdict corrupt members are ultimately dismissed from the SAPS,” said Mathe.
Mathe advised members of the public who encounter corrupt activities by any law enforcement officers, to report the matter immediately.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate said the case in question does not fall under its mandate.
ALSO READ:
– Shoot-out at Durban garage as armed suspects open fire on cash-in-transit guards
MOST READ:
– Family tells of horror robbery while travelling back to Joburg along the N3 from Drakensberg