BUSTED! Police officer arrested with accomplices after robbery

A police officer has been arrested along with accomplices for pickpocketing two pedestrians. 

The complainant alleged that on 9 February 2022 he was walking from work to his home with his uncle on the M19, Blair Athol Road near a service station when a vehicle with four men stopped next to them.

POLICE ARRESTED WITH ACCOMPLICES

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele said the front passenger asked for directions to Reservoir Hills. 

While he was busy giving directions, a passenger that was seated at the back alighted with a firearm in his hand. At gunpoint he demanded money and cellphones. 

The victims were pickpocketed and they were robbed of their cellphones and cash. The victims saw a police van from the K9 Unit that was nearby and alerted the police officers. SAPS members immediately responded and chased the suspects.

Mbele said the vehicle was intercepted and a search was conducted. The cash and two cellphones were found under the seat of the vehicle. 

The firearm used was also found with 15 rounds of ammunition. Four suspects were placed under arrest for robbery. Among the arrested suspects was a police officer stationed at Malvern SAPS. 

The suspects are expected to appear before the Pinetown Magistrates Court on Friday, 11 February 2022.

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi congratulated members of the K9 Unit for their swift response.

 “We are pleased that these thugs are behind bars and that we have been able to weed out a rotten member of the SAPS who has no place in our noble profession,” Mkhwanazi said. 

Meanwhile, a man was shot and killed outside a Durban hardware store on Wednesday afternoon, 9 February. A passenger was also injured during the incident. The shooting incident took place outside a hardware store near the R620 in Margate.

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