The illicit cigarettes that were being sold by the constable.
Police were astounded last week when a constable colleague took to Facebook advertising that he was selling illicit cigarettes to smokers affected by the national lockdown.
The Facebook post caught the attention of crime intelligence who then set a trap for the constable.
The unit, together with umGungundlovu North Cluster and Mountain Rise Crime Prevention Unit, called the constable, who is stationed in Wartburg but who lives at the police barracks in Alexandra Road, and arranged to buy a consignment of cigarettes.
The constable agreed to meet at a parking lot in Victoria Road, Pietermaritzburg, reports Capital Newspapers.
Sitting in an unmarked vehicle, detectives waited for the deal to go down and eventually were approached by a man representing the SAPS constable. After selling them the cigarettes, the man was arrested.
He then led them straight to the constable who was waiting in his SAPS van. Detectives were astounded that the constable had been selling the cigarettes from the back of the police van.
“We don’t know whether he thought he was the smartest criminal by using the van to move the illicit cigarettes undetected but he most surely was the dumbest by posting his business on Facebook,” said an eyewitness to the operation.
The constable has appeared in court.
The National Police Minister Bheki Cele recently said that no person was above the law.
“All unlawful activities by our members are being viewed in a serious light and will neither be tolerated nor condoned by police management. Such members will be dealt with in terms of the disciplinary regulations and may also face criminal charges,” said Cele.
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