While conducting an operation last night, a team of members, joined by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, arrested three men last night, one of which is a police Sergeant.
The operation, which is one of many, primarily intended to stabilize crime in the Umbilo area, was carried out at least until midnight.
Whilst the team was busy with their operations on Noble Road in Umbilo, they noticed something suspicious going on in between occupants in a police vehicle from Durban Central and a civilian male outside a block of flats on Noble Road in Umbilo.
The team continued with their observation on the said activity. An unknown male was seen leaning through the window into the front passenger seat of the police vehicle, handing something over to the passenger.
The team rushed toward the said police vehicle but upon seeing the team approaching, the member in the passenger seat threw something out through the window.
The police officer, a 39-year-old Sergeant, was confronted and placed under arrest for corruption and defeating the ends of justice after an amount of R200-00, which is what he is suspected to have thrown, was retrieved from the drain.
The man who handed the money to the police was subsequently caught with drugs. The civilian was ordered to take the operational team to his apartment where they found a second man. The flat was searched and police found pieces of Cocaine and R7000-00 cash suspected to be the proceeds of crime. Two men, aged 52, were placed under arrest for possession of drugs. All the three suspects are due to appear before the Durban Magistrates Court on Monday, 18 July 2022.
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"We often see videos or pictures or receive information of police officers engaging in such criminal activities and we are unfortunately almost always never able to prove that such police officers are actually engaged in criminal activities", said General Nhlahla Mkhwanazi.
"I accompanied those hard working members last night as a show of support and to boost the morale of our hard working members throughout the province as well as the country and these arrests last night, especially that of the police officer, is a giant leap for those hard working police officers to rid our ranks of corrupt elements", added General Mkhwanazi.
It is very unlikely that the other two constables who were in the company of the arrested Sergeant will go unpunished. They are likely to answer for their actions or omissions within SAPS departmental processes.
