Cape Town - The Hawks arrested three of their own members in Welkom, Free State, Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said on Tuesday.
A 59-year-old captain and two constables, aged 37 and 39, allegedly stole R250 000 from a complainant earlier this month.
The men are all stationed at the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation in Thabong.
The trio went to the house of the complainant soon after their other colleagues had executed a search warrant but failed to find anything incriminating.
When they arrived at the house they demanded to search a vehicle without a search warrant, and they allegedly found the cash in the vehicle’s door panel.
The officers then demanded to leave with the money without counting it. The complainant, however, insisted they count the money, which they did, and then the men left with the money in a sealed exhibit bag.
Shortly afterwards it was discovered that no police station in the vicinity had a record of R250,000 booked in by the officers. Following this discovery, an investigation was launched and subsequently the three officers were arrested for theft and corruption.
The men would appear at the Welkom Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
ANA