Pretoria - Eight police officers from the Lydenburg K9 Unit in Mpumalanga were arrested for corruption on Tuesday, the Hawks said.
The officers allegedly stopped a car and upon searching it found illicit cigarettes and R510 000 cash.
“The officers locked the suspects at the back of the police van, drove to the industrial area where they took R50 000 from the confiscated cash and gave the rest to the owners, who refused to take the money and then later alerted the Hawks about the incident,” Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
The police suspects are alleged to be members of a syndicate which escorts vehicles transporting illegal cigarettes in Lydenburg and surrounding areas.
Mulaudzi said further arrests cannot be ruled out.
The suspects, aged between 30 and 49 will appear before Lydenburg Magistrate’s Court today.
During the operation, the Hawks also arrested two suspects and also took another three for questioning after the two bakkies they were travelling in were found full of illicit cigarettes at the Sasol Complex, in Lydenburg.
The arrested suspects, a man and his female companion, will also appear before the Lydenburg Magistrate’s Court today. - SAnews.gov.za
