Durban — An eThekwini metro police officer, 46, is expected to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday for faking the robbery of his service firearm.
The officer was arrested on Friday and charged with perjury and defeating the ends of justice. He is expected to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The officer reported a false case on Wednesday at the Mariannhill police station, claiming he was held up by three unknown men, outside his house in Savannah Park, who demanded his service pistol. He said the gun had 15 rounds of ammunition.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said that during an investigation it was established that there were contradictions in the officer’s statement, and when he was re-interviewed it was discovered that he had reported a false case.
Ngcobo said the police discovered that the officer had lost his firearm but did not report it to the eThekwini police management. She said the officer was expected to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said although the City was hearing the matter for the first time, it would like to see the law take its course. He said the City subscribed to the rule of law.
Meanwhile, police in KwaZulu-Natal deployed 200 national stabilisation units to hot spots after the release of crime statistics, which again showed the province was still the country’s crime den.
The team arrived in the province on Friday and was welcomed by deputy provincial commissioner, Major-General Phumelele Makoba. The 200 officers are part of the SAPS’s national stabilisation team brought in to assist local members in fighting crime in uMlazi, Inanda in Durban, Plessislaer in Pietermaritzburg, and Manguzi in north-eastern KZN.
Police said special operations were planned in these areas to reduce crime and arrest wanted suspects.
Makoba welcomed the police officers to Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, on behalf of the provincial police management.
“These additional deployments are much needed, and we are so glad that we will be able to strengthen our crime-fighting efforts in the province. We will use these additional police officers to complement our troops during our crime-combating operations,” Makoba said.
Releasing quarterly crime statistics two weeks ago, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced that uMlazi, Inanda and Plessislaer police stations were still number one in terms of crime figures compared with other stations in the country.
This prompted the provincial government to hold a crime summit in Durban two weeks ago to discuss plans and strategies to fight crime.
In the summit, also attended by Cele, Premier Sihle Zikalala called for the reduction of liquor shops and tavern operating hours, which he claimed were contributing to increased crime levels in the province.
Daily News