FREE STATE: Two members of the South African Police Service, both of them Sergeants aged 34 and 38 respectively, will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court on Friday, 22 September 2023 for fraud, money laundering, possession of suspected stolen property, and defeating the administration of justice. They were arrested while on duty in Bloemfontein on Thursday, 21 September by members of Serious Organised Crime Investigation based in Welkom. They are both members of Bloemfontein Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC).
It is alleged that, between December 2021 and January 2022, they frequented a casino in Bloemfontein where they used bank notes which were tainted with ink. Security management at the casino identified them and reported the matter. Over R4 000 in stained cash was used. Both police officials are members of a cash-in-transit task team in the province. It is suspected that they recovered money from a crime scene and kept it for personal use.
The matter was reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) which resulted in the court issuing a warrant for their arrest. Free State Head of the Hawks, Major General Mokgadi Bokaba says both members ought to be hanging their heads in shame for bringing the organisation into disrepute. "It appears their hands were indeed in the cookie jar. Like any criminal, they will not be spared. As the system cleanses itself of rotten potatoes, we will not hesitate to arrest anyone within our ranks who puts the relationship of trust with communities at risk," she said.