Cops caught with goods from raid granted bail
Three police officers who were arrested with valuables taken from a raid were yesterday released on R1 000 bail each.
The three – Sergeant Nolitha Dumezweni, 40, Constable Gareth Walters, 30, and Constable Chantelle Poyo, 36 – were arrested on Saturday and face corruption charges after they were nabbed with an undisclosed number of cellphones, an iPod and an Eskom highgrade tester confiscated during an operation on Friday.
Instead of booking them into the police evidence room, it is alleged the officers took it home.
They appeared before magistrate Rochelle May at the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday. She granted them R1 000 bail each and postponed the case to August 13 for further investigation.
Yesterday, the accused appeared embarrassed, hanging their heads and trying to avoid cameras. Through their lawyers, they managed to persuade Sam to block the media from taking pictures.
Walters and Poyo are being represented by Lindela Ngxekana from the Nahoon-based Siyathemba Sokutu Attorneys while Dumezweni is represented by Mdantsane lawyer Ntsikelelo Manyisana.
The accused are members of the East London operational command centre.
The goods were allegedly found at the homes of the officers and in a patrol van when they were supposed to be locked in the evidence room at Scenery Park police station.
Sam told the officers that should they fail to be in court next month, warrants for their arrest would be issued.