THE four police officers accused of allegedly stealing R18 300 from a shop during a search in Delft have been released on R2 000 bail each.
Warrant Officer Elroy Daniels, 53, Sergeant Simphiwe Ntsali, 45, Constable Avlon de Bruyn, 32, and Constable Thando Monono, 36, made their second appearance at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for their formal bail application. They face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The four are attached to the Bellville Rapid Railway office.
The cops were arrested on November 2 after R18 300 was allegedly stolen on October 2 during an apparent search at a Somalian shop at 7.40pm.
The court heard that the officers were apparently in Delft because they received information that illegal firearms and drugs were being stored at the mentioned address in Heinkel Crescent, The Hague.
According to their affidavits, the officers were given permission to search the premises by a man named Hassan and found nothing. An entry was made into their pocketbooks and Hassan then signed their pocketbooks agreeing that nothing was removed from the premises.
They then headed to Delft police station to make an entry into the Search and Seizure register.
Constable Duister from the Provincial Detective Anti-Corruption Unit however stated in court that the members had no authority to be in Delft on that day as they were posted to work in the Wellington to Wolseley area to focus on essential infrastructure.
Cellphone records and the tracker of the vehicle placed the members at the crime scene.
According to the witness statement, R65 000 was in the storeroom of the tuck shop which was supposed to pay the cigarette supplier and when the members left, R18 300 was missing.
The officers were released on R2 000 bail each and the matter was postponed to January 21 next year for further investigation.
Bail conditions include that they are not allowed in Delft and should have no contact, direct or indirect, with State witnesses.
Cape Times