Potchefstroom -Three North West police officers have appeared in court in the North West after being arrested this week in connection with the theft of confiscated illicit cigarettes and alcohol in two separate incidents.
According to Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone, Sergeant Cindy Nidene Roos, 39, was released on R1000 bail when she appeared in the Rustenburg Magistrates’ Court on Friday on charges of theft and defeating the ends of justice.
Roos’s court appearance followed her arrest on Wednesday in Rustenburg in connection with the alleged theft of cigarettes worth R6000.
She was expected to appear in the same court again on August 31.
According to information received, Roos allegedly booked out the cigarettes from the Rustenburg Police Station exhibit store on Friday, May 8 "under the pretext of dispatching them to forensic laboratory". The cigarettes were recovered during the arrest, Mokgwabone said.
In an unrelated incident, two other SAPS sergeants were released on warning when they appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrates’ Court, also on Friday, on charges of theft and defeating the ends of justice. Thabang Selebale, 40, and Tshepo Pooe, 35, would appear for a second time in the same court on June 17, he said.
The pair were also arrested on Wednesday in connection with the alleged theft of liquor worth R10,000. Reports suggested that the officers allegedly connived with two civilians, Morgen Mofokeng, 38, and Timothy Nkola, 40, and stole liquor from three women.
It was alleged that the two civilians had convinced the victims to sell them stokvel club liquor. During the transaction, Selebale and Pooe suddenly emerged, in an unmarked police vehicle, and threatened the women with arrest for contravening the coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown regulations.
"They apparently confiscated the liquor and loaded it into a red Mini Cooper driven by one of the two civilians, and they all drove off from the scene. Investigations into the matter revealed that the liquor was not documented as exhibits at the police station."
Mofokeng and Nkola were subsequently arrested on Saturday, May 16. Consequent to their court appearance, Nkola was released on warning while Mofokeng paid R500 bail. They would also again appear in court, together with the two police officers, on Wednesday, Mokgwabone said.
North West SAPS commissioner Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena condemned the officers’ "unbecoming conduct, which could not be tolerated within the ranks of the SAPS".
Kwena commended the anti-corruption investigation unit (ACIU) for their commitment in exposing "our own members who fail to abide by the organisational code of conduct".