Vaal cops charged with corruption, extortion and theft to appear in Vanderbijlpark court later in May

VANDERBIJLPARK - Three Sedibeng Economic Infrastructure Task Team (EITT) police officials appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court this week after allegedly raiding a scrapyard and misusing their powers. Police say the officials allegedly arrived at a local scrapyard and ordered everyone to stop what they were doing. They claimed they received a tip-off about illegal activities taking place at the scrapyard and then stated they were going to arrest everyone present. The members instructed the complainant to contact the scrapyard owner using his cell phone. One of the police officers then spoke to the owner and demanded R40,000 in exchange for not arresting the workers. He told the police members he had R10,000 in cash and handed it over to one of the constables. The police instructed the owner to transfer the remaining amount into one of the police official’s accounts. The police also seized four rolls of copper cables and claimed that they were taking it to the police station. They appeared in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on May 6 on charges of corruption, extortion, and theft and will appear again on May 26. The officers has been identified as Constables David/Devon M. Logenberg, Tankiso Augusto Petsana, and Sello V. Mahlatsi.