Cape Town - A police officer has been sentenced in the Mitchells Plain Regional Court to six years in prison for transporting illicit cigarettes from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Warrant Officer Jerome Claud Hendricks was convicted for possessing illicit cigarettes and failure to provide documentation upon request by a South African Revenue Service (Sars) official, obstructing the course of justice, and accepting gratification to convince the police not to stop and search the vehicle transporting the illicit cigarettes.
He has also be declared by the court to be unfit to possess a firearm.
According to the Western Cape spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Eric Ntabazalila, this case emanates from the suspicion of two police officers stationed in Beaufort West after they noticed a sedan with red and blue lights passing through the town while they were enjoying coffee on February 12, 2011.
“They decided to follow the vehicle as their suspicion grew as only police used blue lights and they were not aware of any police operations going through the town.
“The sedan which was followed by a bakkie suddenly stopped on the side of the road and a police officer dressed in full SAPS uniform, battle jacket with a bulletproof vest, stun grenades, and extra magazine for his pistol, alighted and approached them.
“Hendricks told them he was from the National Intervention Unit of SAPS and they were busy with an operation escorting exhibits to Cape Town. He then instructed them to stay sharp.
“He continued escorting the bakkie through red traffic lights in the town towards Cape Town. They testified that they were left stunned, but as constables they could not question a warrant officer, especially from a specialised unit.
“They then contacted the head of Crime Intelligence in Beaufort West to find out if he was aware of an operation through the town. He too was puzzled but instructed them to keep following the vehicles,” Ntabazalila said.
He said Hendricks was stopped again by two police officers, and told them two weeks earlier officers in Beaufort West confiscated goods, but not all the items were booked in as evidence, and these were now being transported to Cape Town.
Hendricks told the officers they were transporting drugs.
As top police management was called about the “operation”, the Western Cape police commissioner and Hendricks’ commanding officer got in contact with his superior, who was not aware of any operation but stated he knew Hendricks was in Kimberley attending a trial at the high court.
Hendricks and three others were arrested just outside Beaufort West that same evening after the alleged operation could not be verified by top brass.
Hendricks, who was attached to the Railway Police National Mobile Train Unit in Johannesburg, was charged with having 4 000 illicit packets of Kingdom cigarettes and failing to produce proof of purchase.
During the trial, the State Prosecutor, advocate Jacobus Hough, said Hendricks’ criminal activites had a potential loss of R474 344 of tax not declared.
The illicit cigarettes were seized by the state.
During arguments, Hough argued against a correctional supervision sentence recommended by the probation officer, as he submitted that Hendricks did not accept responsibility for his actions and maintained his innocence.
Hough also submitted the limit has been reached regarding corruption in South Africa, and argued that something needed to be done as the public had started losing faith in organisations that are supposed to protect them from corruption, and demanded that the SAPS, NPA and the courts lead by example.
“It is therefore abundantly clear that the legislature has sent a message to the South African courts, that corruption and corruption by law enforcement officials is a serious crime and that the sentences should reflect that,” Hough submitted.
The other two men, Hendricks’ brother and brother-in-law, said they were asked to drive the bakkie to Cape Town and believed they would visit family in the area at the time.
Hendricks said he was escorting goods for a friend, Owen Keyser. Keyser was arrested later and entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the state.
He admitted in court he was a professional smuggler and seller of illicit cigarettes.
Keyser also told the court he and Hendricks had previously smuggled cigarettes from Johannesburg to Cape Town using the railway system.
On February 11, 2011, Keyser said Hendricks approached him and asked if there wasn’t any “money to be made”. Hendricks, he told the court, offered to transport cigarettes to Cape Town and stated he would escort these as a SAPS member, making it look like an official SAPS operation.
Keyser further testified he gave Hendricks a route that would have bypassed Beaufort West, but Hendricks decided to go through the area as an official on an official operation.
Keyser would have paid Hendricks R8 000 for the transport of the illicit cigarettes.
Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, advocate Nicolette Bell, welcomed the outcome of the matter and applauded the prosecution team, members of Sars and members of police.
“The accused has committed similar crimes before. Criminals like him must know that impunity is no longer a given. We will stop at nothing in holding those most responsible for corruption as we rebuild the rule of law.
“Corruption threatens the economic stability of our country and as the NPA we have undertaken that we take the profit out of crime,” Bell said.