Denge warns community against offering bribes to the police
The Vosloorus SAPS head claimed Vosloorus SAPS is working hard to fight crime in the township through recent joint operations, which yielded good results.
Vosloorus SAPS commander Brig Themba Denge has warned community members, during a recent Drug and Substance Abuse Awareness Campaign in Vosloorus, to not offer police officers bribes.
Denge said he is aware that some community members accused police of taking bribes from criminals.
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However, Denge accused the community members who offer bribes of being equally as guilty as the police. He emphasised that he is aware of the rotten police officers in the force who like money more than their job.
He said he is not trying to defend the police or accuse community members, but pleaded with everyone to play their part in the fight against crime.
He warns community members not to continue to offer bribes to the police as it does not help in the fight against crime. He encouraged community members to report police officers who ask for bribes in order to release suspects.
Denge said in the first operations that ran for three days, he worked with an anti-gang unit from Johannesburg, where he acted on a tip-off by community members. The anti-gang unit was established after the violence broke out in Sofia Town where the unit was tasked to get rid of drugs.
Denge said the operation was successful as they managed to arrest suspects suspected of drug-dealing with bags of drugs worth hundreds of thousands of rands.
Another joint operation with EMPD and Ekurhuleni West Zone Trio Team, where the police also acted on a tip-off, was conducted at an identified area at Nguni Hostel. During the operation, three out of 15 suspects accused of taxi violence and hostel killings were arrested on the spot.
During the arrest, an unlicensed firearm with the serial number filed off and a vehicle hijacked in Duduza in January were seized.
Denge also mentioned the police are conducting an investigation to link the suspects with the said crimes.
“This is how hard the police are working and putting their lives on the line in order to make Vosloorus a crime-free society,” he said.
Denge said community members should trust the police. If they do not trust the police they must trust him by giving him information about suspicious activities in the township.
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“I am aware that the community is afraid to report crime, claiming the police will sell them out to criminals. I promise you, if you report directly to me I will send the police to the identified spot. No one is going to ask me where I got the information from,” concludes Denge.
Denge can be contacted on 082 461 2870.
