NW officer in court for allegedly stealing cigarettes worth R6K from evidence locker

A North West police officer has been charged for theft and defeating the ends of justice after she allegedly stole R6 000 worth of cigarettes out of the Rustenburg police station’s exhibit store earlier in May.

Cindy Nidene Roos, 39, a sergeant stationed in the North West, allegedly booked out the cigarettes under the pretence of dispatching it to a forensic laboratory on 8 May, according to police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone.

Roos was arrested on Wednesday in Rustenburg and has since been released on R1 000 bail after making her first appearance in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

“The stolen cigarettes were recovered during the arrest,” Mokgwabone said.

She is expected to reappear in court on 31 August.

Cops ‘stealing liquor’

In a separate incident, two other police sergeants, Thabang Selebale, 40, and Tshepo Pooe, 35, were arrested in Klerksdorp on Wednesday after allegedly stealing liquor worth R10 000 from three women.

“Reports suggest that the members connived with two civilians, Morgen Mofokeng, 38, and Timothy Nkola, 40, and stole liquor from three women. It is alleged that Mofokeng and Nkola convinced the victims to sell them stokvel club liquor,” Mokgwabone said.

“During the transaction, Selebale and Pooe suddenly emerged, in an unmarked police vehicle, and then [allegedly] threatened the women with arrest for contravening the lockdown regulations.

“They apparently confiscated the liquor and loaded it in a red Mini Cooper driven by one of the two civilians, and they all drove off from the scene.”

Investigations into the matter revealed that the liquor was allegedly not documented as exhibits at the police station, Mokgwabone said.

Mofokeng and Nkola were subsequently arrested on 16 May.

Nkola was released on warning, while Mofokeng was released on bail of R500 by the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court.

Both police officers were released on warning by the same court on Friday.

All four men are expected to make their next appearance in court on 17 June.

North West police commissioner Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena condemned the police officers’ alleged conduct.

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