Panado and R35,000 missing: Edenvale raid leads to arrest of 10 police officers
All the seized cigarettes was not detailed into he evidence by the group.
Image: Courtney Africa / Independent Newspapers
Ten members from the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) are expected to appear in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Police in Gauteng arrested their colleagues on Monday while they were on duty on charges of theft and corruption.
The arrests follow a raid in June.
The spokesperson for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Lizzy Suping, said the arrested officers were involved in a multi-disciplinary operation by law enforcement initiated by the Premier of Gauteng.
“The accused officers raided a shop at number 7 Hermila Avenue in Edenvale, where they seized cigarettes and took cash amounting to R35,000 and three packs of headache tablets (Panados) to the value of about R5,000. They arrested the cashier for trading in illicit cigarettes and the other employee for violating immigration rules,” Suping said.
However, the officers failed to record all items in evidence.
“It is also alleged that the accused officers failed to record all the merchandise seized from the shop at the police station. The shop manager allegedly disputed the quantity and type of merchandise booked in the occurrence book to the Station Commander,” Suping said.
Ipid confirmed that of the arrested officers, one has the rank of sergeant while the rest are constables.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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