Homeless man arrested for allegedly breaking into the Hawks’ offices

A homeless man who allegedly broke into the Hawks’ offices in Bellville over the weekend will remain behind bars as the police probe whether he could be linked to other burglaries in the same building over the last two years.

Brandon Okkers, 34, appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase said.

“Three offices were broken into [over the weekend] and an attempt was made to break open the door of another office. Okkers was arrested on Tuesday and he was found in possession of some personal items belonging to [Hawks] members,” Nkwalase said.

Other break-ins

“The investigation is currently focused on linking the suspect to other break-ins in the same building during the last two years. In all these break-ins, a number of items ranging from flash drives, hard drives and private personal items of individual members were taken.”

No “major items” were lost during these burglaries, Nkwalase said.

“It is worth noting that no investigations [were] compromised and that there is no indication that specific information was targeted. The suspect is a homeless person living nearby.”

The case has since been referred to detectives for further investigation, although the Hawks were also assisting.

The case against Okkers was postponed to 23 April.

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