17 July 2022
A 39-year-old sergeant from Durban Central SAPS was caught during an operation for allegedly soliciting R200 from a drug dealer on Noble Road in Umbilo on Saturday.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said an SAPS team, joined by KZN provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, was conducting an operation to stabilise crime in the Umbilo area when they noticed something suspicious.
Gwala said while the team was busy with their operations on Noble Road, they noticed something suspicious going on in between occupants in a police vehicle from Durban Central and a civilian male outside a block of flats.
The team continued to observe the interaction, she said.
“An male was seen leaning through the window of the front passenger seat of the police vehicle, handing something over to the passenger. The team rushed toward the said police vehicle but upon seeing the team approaching, the member in the passenger seat threw something out through the window,” she said.
Gwala said members of the team retrieved R200 from the drain, which is what the officer is suspected to have been thrown out the window.
“The police officer, a 39-year-old sergeant, was confronted and placed under arrest for corruption and defeating the ends of justice,” she said.
The man who handed over the money was carrying drugs and he was ordered to take the operational team to his apartment where they found a second man.
