Two Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) officers are back on duty despite a pending case of truck hijacking against them.
The two officers, whom TMPD has refused to name, were arrested last month by the Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) for alleged involvement in a truck hijacking and for possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.
TMPD spokesperson senior superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the date on which the officers resumed duty is not clear but it was soon after they were granted bail.
“The TMPD members were released on bail. The matter is still under TMPD internal investigation. An internal docket was opened and registered for further investigation. They were served with notices of intention to suspend them and given the opportunity to submit representation as to why they should not be suspended,” Mahamba said.
In early September, the two officers, dressed in their TMPD uniforms, were spotted along the R21 highway in Ekurhuleni by EMPD officers. The TMPD officers were travelling in a grey BMW 3 series fitted with blue police lights.
The EMPD officers became suspicious and started interrogating the two TMPD officers. The EMPD officers inspected the vehicle and discovered that it had been stolen, EMPD spokesperson Lt-Col Kelebogile Thepa had said.
Two TMPD officers accused of truck hijacking granted bail, return to work
Image: Tshwane metro police/Twitter
Two Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) officers are back on duty despite a pending case of truck hijacking against them.
The two officers, whom TMPD has refused to name, were arrested last month by the Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) for alleged involvement in a truck hijacking and for possession of a suspected stolen vehicle.
TMPD spokesperson senior superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the date on which the officers resumed duty is not clear but it was soon after they were granted bail.
“The TMPD members were released on bail. The matter is still under TMPD internal investigation. An internal docket was opened and registered for further investigation. They were served with notices of intention to suspend them and given the opportunity to submit representation as to why they should not be suspended,” Mahamba said.
In early September, the two officers, dressed in their TMPD uniforms, were spotted along the R21 highway in Ekurhuleni by EMPD officers. The TMPD officers were travelling in a grey BMW 3 series fitted with blue police lights.
The EMPD officers became suspicious and started interrogating the two TMPD officers. The EMPD officers inspected the vehicle and discovered that it had been stolen, EMPD spokesperson Lt-Col Kelebogile Thepa had said.
The BMW was used by the TMPD officers to escort a grey truck carrying goods, which was driven by a third person. When the truck driver noticed the EMPD officers in an unmarked vehicle with the TMPD officers, the truck drove past and sped off.
But the truck driver abandoned the vehicle and tried to escape on foot.
“The EMPD officers pursued the suspect on foot, until they apprehended him in a nearby bush with the assistance of Gauteng department of community safety and SAPS helicopters,” Thepa said.
The three suspects face charges of truck hijacking and possession of suspected stolen goods.
Asked whether TMPD officers can continue their duties despite pending cases against them, Mahamba said: “Yes, remember you are innocent until proven guilty by the court of law”.
He said the two TMPD officers are to appear again before the Pretoria magistrate’s court on November 1.
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