The Hawks arrested two Bloemfontein police officials for various crimes including fraud.
The two sergeants, Sergeant Ncebo Mitane (38) and Sergeant Lerato Gift Shopo (34), faced charges of fraud, money laundering, possession of suspected stolen property, and defeating the administration of justice on 21 September. The case against them was postponed to 30 Octoberber 2023 for Bloemfontein Regional Court. Bail is fixed at R10 000 each.
They were arrested while on duty by the Serious Organised Crime Investigation members based in Welkom. Both officials are members of the Bloemfontein Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC).
It is alleged that between December 2021 and January 2022 the suspects frequented the casino in Bloemfontein where they used bank notes tainted with ink. They were identified and reported by security management at the casino.
Over R4 000 in stained cash was used.
Both police officials are members of the provincial cash-in-transit task team. It is suspected that they recovered money from a crime scene and kept it for personal use.
The matter was reported to the Hawks, which resulted in the court issuing a warrant for their arrest.
“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.
“Both members ought to be hanging their heads in shame for bringing the organisation into disrepute,” said Free State head of the Hawks, Maj. Gen. Mokgadi Bokaba
