Cops nabbed for heists

Cele also cites foreign elements in the robberies

Police Minister Bheki Cele says the SAPS has arrested five police officers in relation to cash-in-transit heists.

Cele revealed this yesterday during a meeting with parliament’s police portfolio committee which was called to discuss the turnaround strategy of the Hawks on high profile cases.

Cele told MPs that there was an increasing element of foreign nationals involved in cash-in-transit heists‚ who appeared to be supplying blasting materials used in the robberies.

“There’s quite a foreign element on cash heists‚ especially the blasters seem to be coming from Botswana, and elements from Zimbabwe that are there‚” he said.

“There’s an element of our own guys as well – the police. In the last 24 hours we arrested five police officers.

“We’ll always work on this when we find it. I always say that one painful thing is to announce the arrest of a police officer‚ but it has to be done if needs be,” said Cele.

The police minister said criminals were so brazen that they went around boasting about “buying everybody”.

“One guy was boasting to say‚ ‘we don’t have fiscus‚ we don’t have budgeting‚ we don’t have auditor-general’.

“They say they buy everyone from the police to the correctional officers …. it’s not proven chairperson. They say they buy prosecutors‚ magistrates‚ judges. It’s a question of crime (syndicates) running a parallel government.”