Three Crime Intelligence cops and informant arrested after alleged cigarette robbery at Ekurhuleni mall
Three Gauteng Crime Intelligence constables and a police informant have been arrested after they were allegedly caught in the act of robbing a business at a shopping centre in Ekurhuleni – and then reportedly pleaded that they were only trying to “make ends meet”.
Three Crime Intelligence constables and a police informant were arrested following a business robbery in Ekurhuleni.
Three Gauteng Crime Intelligence officers and a police informant were arrested during a business robbery in Ekurhuleni.
A local anti-crime forum alleges the officers were caught loading stolen cigarettes into vehicles and stole more than R30 000.
They appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday and were granted R1 500 bail each.
The incident has sparked fresh concern about criminality within specialised police units, and the apparent reluctance of local officers to act against colleagues until community structures escalated the case to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
Three police officers from Gauteng Crime Intelligence, along with a police informant, were arrested in Thokoza in Ekurhuleni after allegedly being caught in the act of committing a business robbery.
The officers reportedly pleaded for mercy during their arrest, claiming they were merely trying to “make ends meet” and “earn a living”.
IPID confirmed that the three constables – Emmanuel Ntoampe, 31, Bheki Gaven Sithole, 35, and Vusi Tshabangu, 25 – appeared on robbery charges in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) confirmed that the three constables – Emmanuel Ntoampe, 31, Bheki Gaven Sithole, 35, and Vusi Tshabangu, 25 – appeared on robbery charges in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
All three were granted R1 500 bail each.
Meanwhile, the bail application for the police informant, Thandokuhle Ngema, 35, is expected to be heard on Friday.
Community tip-off and citizen intervention
The arrests were triggered by a complaint from the Thatha Zonke Anti-Crime Unit, a local community organisation that responded to a tip-off from a resident who spotted suspicious activity at a shop in the Letsoho Shopping Centre in Katlehong on 9 April.
IPID carried out the arrests after a complaint was lodged by members of the Thatha Zonke Anti-Crime Unit, who responded to a tip-off from a community member.
The community member had alerted Thatha Zonke, which is known for its proactive approach to combating crime, after spotting suspicious activity at a shop in the Letsoho Shopping Centre in Katlehong on 9 April.
The anti-crime unit’s Simphiwe Khumalo told News24 that its members rushed to the scene and saw men loading boxes of cigarettes into private vehicles.
The anti-crime unit’s Simphiwe Khumalo told News24 that its members responded promptly to the scene and observed men loading boxes of cigarettes into private vehicles.
Acting tactically, they moved in, disarmed the men and restrained them.
Acting tactically, the team approached the men, disarmed and restrained them.
Khumalo said:
“Initially, they (officers) complied, and we said that they must lie down. We disarmed them, removed the firearms and the cigarettes that they had stolen.”
It was only then, Khumalo says, that the men identified themselves as Crime Intelligence officers and claimed they were seizing illicit cigarettes as part of an official operation.
“Then we started asking them who they were, and they said that they were Crime Intelligence officers and were on duty, confiscating illicit cigarettes,” Khumalo said.
According to an IPID report seen by News24, the men presented official police identification cards at the scene.
Several firearms and empty police dockets were recovered from the scene.
The report records that one of the accused gave an extraordinary explanation for his conduct.
According to the IPID report, which News24 has seen, the men also presented official police identification cards.
“One individual allegedly stated that they were engaging in the conduct to ‘make ends meet’ through private means, despite the unlawful nature of the activity.
“He further indicated that he was 25 years old and attempting to earn a living,” the report added.
SAPS resistance and IPID intervention
Despite the evidence on the ground, Thatha Zonke says the initial response from local police was far from decisive.
However, Thatha Zonke members grew suspicious of the suspects’ claims and contacted the Thokoza South African Police Service (SAPS), the report read.
According to Khumalo, their efforts were met with resistance by police officers who responded to the scene.
“There was resistance from Thokoza SAPS, and they did not want to arrest them, because they were saying they were police officers and were on duty and doing their job.
“This despite us showing them evidence that it was actually a robbery and that they were not supposed to be there,” Khumalo said.
Khumalo said the confrontation centred on the proper role of Crime Intelligence members, who, by doctrine, gather information rather than execute raids.
“There was a confrontation, because we said to them that Crime Intelligence did not [make] arrests, but that it gathers information and then gives it to a unit to conduct [arrests].
“They were saying they were on an operation, but in terms of how everything was done there, they were not trying to conduct an operation,” he said.
Frustrated, Thatha Zonke escalated the matter directly to IPID, which then dispatched investigators.
Frustrated by the lack of action, Khumalo said Thatha Zonke escalated the matter to IPID, which dispatched officials to the scene.
IPID investigators conducted a preliminary probe and arrested the men in connection with business robbery, he said.
IPID investigators conducted a preliminary investigation and arrested the men in connection with business robbery, he said.
A source close to the investigation told News24 that more than R30 000 in cash was taken from the business and has not been recovered.
A source close to the investigation told News24 that more than R30 000 was stolen from the business and never recovered.
Khumalo said the anti-crime unit also confiscated a cache of weapons at the scene.
Khumalo said the anti-crime unit recovered two police-issue firearms and four unlicensed firearms.
He said it also recovered empty police dockets from the scene, which he believed were being used to intimidate victims.
Systemic concerns
The case raises serious questions about corruption within specialised SAPS units tasked with gathering intelligence on organised crime, and about the willingness of some station-level officers to protect colleagues even when there is evidence of wrongdoing.
For community structures like Thatha Zonke, it is both a vindication of their role and a troubling sign of how deeply some forms of criminality may be embedded within the very institutions meant to combat it.
The fact that IPID had to be called in before arrests were made – despite the presence of weapons, cigarettes, dockets and eyewitnesses – will likely fuel calls for stronger independent oversight and better protection for whistle-blowers and community activists who stand up to corrupt officers.
For now, the three officers remain on bail, facing robbery charges that could see them jailed if convicted, while their alleged accomplice and police informant, Ngema, awaits his own bail hearing.
IPID’s investigation continues, including into how the officers gained access to the premises, whether they targeted other businesses in a similar fashion, and what role the seized empty dockets may have played in intimidating victims into silence.
