Polokwane - Two men, believed to be in their 40s or 50s, have been arrested after they were caught operating vehicles marked with full "sector police" police emblems in the Westenburg policing area at Polokwane, Limpopo police said on Saturday.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) condemned the illegal use of its insignia and emblems, Lt-Col Moatshe Ngoepe said.
During the arrest, two cars which were allegedly owned by the Nirvana Community Police Forum (CPF) were confiscated for further police investigations.
Limpopo police commissioner Lt-Gen Nneke Ledwaba and police management viewed this practice in a very serious light because it was "depicting a severe confusion within our communities and it is also denting the image of this department and its corporate identity", Ngoepe said.
"This must stop abruptly and whoever can be found engaged in similar practices, the long arm of the law will deal with him/her harshly, and any member of the community who may see or come across suspicious cars marked with police emblems should contact the nearest police station immediately," Ledwaba said.
The arrested suspects would appear in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court soon on charges of impersonating police. The investigations were continuing, Ngoepe said.