The officer, based in Isipingo, south of the city, was responsible for issuing liquor licenses and second hand goods licenses, said SAPS spokesman Brig Jay Naicker.
He said the officer approached the businessman over R9,000 in outstanding fines – but the cop promised the man that he would “ensure that the fines are withdrawn at court if he was paid an amount of R3,000”.
This happened in February this year. According to Naicker, the man paid the officer R1,500 — bit the officer demanded the remaining amount.
The man decided to approach the SAPS Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit and a case of corruption was opened at Isipingo SAPS for further investigation.
“On Friday, March 13 2020 at 1.45pm detectives from the Anti-Corruption Unit conducted a sting operation and the suspect, aged 48, was arrested at a service station in Isipingo as he received the cash from the informant,” said Naicker.
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula hailed the arrest. “While it is disappointing to hear of police officers involved in criminal activities we remain committed to ensuring that those who display such criminal behaviour are rooted out of the organisation.
We want to commend members of the community who have come forward to bring such corrupt activities to our attention and we want to assure them that our Anti-Corruption Unit will be arresting more corrupt individuals soon due to ongoing investigations.
During my tenure I will ensure that the Anti-Corruption Unit is strengthened and I want to reassure members of the community that any information with regards to police officers involved in criminal activities will be given the appropriate attention,” he said.