A former Mthatha police captain is awaiting sentencing after he was found guilty of dipping into funds used to trap criminals.

The Hawks swooped on Rodney Two-boy Mpapela, 61, a former captain who was attached to the serious commercial crime investigation unit in the Eastern Cape city, in June. The crime dates back to 2007.

“On February 20 2007, an application for trap money amounting to R4,000 was made by the Hawks members for the purpose of conducting an investigation,” said Hawks spokesperson Capt Yolisa Mgolodela.

“The operation was conducted and the entire trap money was recovered from the target and registered at the local police station. It was later booked out by the investigators.

“On July 8 2011, the original case docket which necessitated the police action was allocated to Capt Rodney Two-boy Mpapela and he was handed the cash by the then unit commander. On March 10 2016, the case related to the cash in question was withdrawn by the state.

“The unit commander handed over the exhibit to the captain to return it to the finance office but it never reached the destination. Mpapela was adamant that the cash in question was not with him.”

Mgolodela said the matter was reported to the Hawks in 2020 which led to Mpapela’s arrest. Mpapela, who is out on R5,000 bail, will be sentenced on October 8.

The Mthatha specialised commercial crime court convicted Mpapela on Thursday.

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