CAPE TOWN – Two Western Cape law enforcement officers were arrested on Tuesday following an undercover operation by the provincial Anti-Corruption Unit after they allegedly demanded a bribe from a motorist they had stopped for drunk driving.
The officers were apprehended after accepting R3 000 in marked banknotes during a controlled sting operation, authorities said.
According to police, the case began on 5 January when the two officers stopped a suspected intoxicated driver on Voortrekker Road in Parow. Rather than arresting the motorist for driving under the influence, the officers allegedly demanded a R3 000 bribe in exchange for his release.
The officers reportedly recorded a video of the intoxicated driver as collateral and stored their contact information on his mobile phone, instructing him that payment could be made at a later date.
The driver instead reported the incident to the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit. Detectives requested him to cooperate while they prepared an undercover operation.
On 13 January, anti-corruption investigators provided the driver with marked currency to deliver to the suspects at a predetermined location. When the officers arrived, they deleted the video from the driver’s phone and accepted the money, at which point they were arrested.
Police seized the officers’ mobile phones and the marked banknotes as evidence.
The two suspects are expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court once charges are formally filed.
The South African Police Service has urged members of the public who have been solicited for bribes or witnessed corrupt behaviour to report such incidents immediately.
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