Cape Town - The police officers arrested for allegedly robbing a house in Llandudno appeared briefly in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where the matter was postponed to tomorrow.
Operation Restore Unit officer, Jacobus Groenewald, 44, has been charged along with Constable Bradley Dimitri Minnaar, 28, Sergeant at Bellville SAPS Mthuthuzeli Mafanya, 33, and Sergeant at Philippi SAPS Bathandwa Soldati, 38.
They face a robbery with aggravating circumstances charge in connection with R20 million worth of jewellery allegedly stolen.
After a meeting between the State and the defence attorneys, Magistrate Sibongiseni Mtwana said: “The defence has raised some issues they wish to address, so the case has been rolled over to Friday, October 18 for further bail application.”
Wynberg control prosecutor, Brynmor Benjamin, said he was ready to proceed with the cross-examination of Groenewald, which started on Tuesday.
“I was supposed to stand in for State prosecutor Langeni and I had listened to Tuesday’s proceedings,” Benjamin said.
The officers were arrested on September 14 by the Western Cape AntiGang Unit, a day after the suspects raided the house in Llandudno.
According to Groenewald, while searching the house, they found empty Rolex and Cartier boxes and there were no watches. He told the court he did not understand why the officers were being charged for items they did not even see at the premises.
“We’re being charged for stealing something we never even saw.”
Groenewald said they had tampered with the licence plates of the State vehicle they drove to the house.
“It was very easy. I just took three pieces of numbers with double-sided tape and attached them. It’s not number plates; it’s just pieces of a number plate.”
Cape Argus