PIENAAR – The tendency of criminals robbing unsuspecting victims of their belongings while posing as police officers seems to be on the rise around Mbombela.
Last week two middle-aged men allegedly knocked on the door of a certain home in Pienaar where they apparently introduced themselves as police officers on duty. The complainant opened the door only to realise that they were not police but criminals pretending to imitate the police.
“They demanded a firearm from the houseowner and after telling them that he did not own one, they robbed him of several household items,” said Lt Jabu Ndubane, spokesperson for the local police.
The complainant was able to identify one of the suspects who was known to him and had before borrowed a firearm from him. Some of the items were recovered from the suspects and they had been arrested.
This newspaper also learned of several incidents that had occured in which crooks posing as police in uniform, terrorised the community of KaBokweni and surroundings over the festive season.
“We received complaints during the festive season of incidents in which two people in private clothes would attack a victim and a third one wearing a uniform would enter, pretending to assist the victim, yet he is also part of the scheme and they rob the victims of their belongings,” said Capt Shirley Ngomane, spokesperson for the KaBokweni police. None of these prepatrators had been arrested.
The KaNyamazane police reported that five unknown suspects posing as police officials robbed communities of household items worth over R108 350 at Ekuzoleni Section on January 3 around 01:00 after they had knocked and introduced themselves as police members on duty.
So far, no arrests had been made in this case. Other reliable sources also revealed that some criminals who misused police uniforms and firearms were close relatives of police officers.
Lt Leonard Hlathi, the provincial spokesperson, confirmed that such incidents did happen from time to time where people posing as police officials attacked victims under false pretense and it had become rife in the country.
“This is as a result of police officers who don’t adhere to the rules and regulations of the sector. Police members are obliged to return their worn uniforms so that they can be given new ones.
“We cannot deny that there are rotten potatoes among members of the service, as we have recently seen on television police confiscating police branded vehicles which criminals planned to use. They have identity cards and uniforms. Such people must be stopped,” added Hlathi.
