Besides the two police officials, another suspect was arrested after cigarettes and cash was apparently stolen.
THREE suspects have been arrested, including two police officials, who were allegedly involved in a business robbery where cigarettes and cash were stolen.
The Provincial Commissioner of the Northern Cape, Lt Gen Risimati Peter Shivuri, on Sunday strongly condemned the alleged involvement of two police officers in the robbery that took place on Saturday evening.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba, said it was alleged that on Saturday around 6pm, two police officers attached to Roodepan police station, together with a civilian accomplice, stormed into a local tuckshop in Kimberley and robbed the owner of an undisclosed amount of cash.
“Twenty-five cartons of cigarettes were also stolen.”
The three suspects were arrested on Sunday by members of the Trio Task Team, assisted by Public Order Police, Search and Rescue, SAPS Roodepan and SANDF.
“The two police officers were arrested at their place of work and their accomplice was arrested at his residence in Roodepan,” Ramatseba said.
“It is alleged that one of the police officers was wearing a police uniform during the robbery.”
“An undisclosed amount of cash was found in possession of the civilian suspect and was confiscated.“
The Provincial Commissioner reiterated that police officers involved in criminal activities would face the full might of the law.
“The South African Police Service in the Northern Cape will do everything possible to ensure that rotten police officers are exposed and sent to jail where they belong,” Shivuri emphasised.
The three suspects are expected to appear in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court soon on a charge of business robbery.
“Investigation by the Trio Task Team is continuing,” Ramatseba added.
The owner of the shop in Schmidtsdrift Road said that he was robbed of R47 000 in cash and cigarettes by the three men, one of whom was wearing a police uniform.
According to the owner, one of the suspects was dressed in police uniform and assisted his two accomplices in entering the premises.
The owner, MD Rasell, said the suspect wearing the police uniform jumped over the back gate of the premises and produced a police badge, which he showed to him. He indicated that they were there to search the premises.
According to the shop owner, he had just closed the shop and he and his brother were preparing supper.
“The police official instructed me to open the gate for his two partners,” Rasell said.
“The three of them went into my room where they searched and found the cigarettes and cash that had been hidden there.”
The officer apparently took the items and handed them to the two accomplices, “who just quietly took them and left”.
Rasell added that when the three left his premises, they split up, with the police officer getting into one car and the other two into another vehicle.
Rasell said it was only later in the evening, while going through the CCTV footage, that he thought the raid seemed suspicious. ”I contacted a friend who is in the police force and he identified two of the suspects as police officials, including the one wearing the uniform.”
He added that he had been running the shop for the past 18 months and had followed all the necessary lockdown regulations.
