Three policemen from the organised crime unit in Polokwane were arrested for allegedly helping out a man charged with robbery, Limpopo police said on Saturday.
A police captain and two warrant officers from the Polokwane police station allegedly acted together to help withdraw a robbery case from court and set the suspect free, Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba said in a statement.
He said one of the officers apparently pretended to be the victim of a robbery in order to withdraw a case in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court in April 2009.
“The police captain (a Group Commander) connived with the Warrant Officers in ensuring that the case against the common robbery suspect was withdrawn by court,” Ramatseba said.
The man accused of robbery was also implicated in a similar case in Thohoyandou. Instead of taking him there to be arrested, the policemen allegedly set him free.
Ramatseba said the police captain was apparently given R16 500
and a plasma TV set in return, while one of the officers was given a car and fridge. The other officer was said to have been given R3000.
The man was arrested in December and pointed out the policemen.
The captain's car was confiscated and the fridge and TV had not been found.
The trio would appear in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice.
They also faced the possibility of suspension following internal investigations. - Sapa