Cape Town - A police officer, one of four accused of house robbery at a Llandudno residence, confirmed he had tampered with the licence plates of the service vehicles used at the time of the incident.
Four officers charged with robbery, appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where first accused, Sergeant Jacobus Groenewald, 44, was cross-examined by the State.
Joining him in the dock were Constable Bradley Dimitri Minnaar, 28, Sergeant at Bellville SAPS Mthuthuzeli Mafanya, 33, and Sergeant at Philippi SAPS Bathandwa Soldati 38.
The officers, part of the Operation Restore Unit, were nabbed by the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit following the reported house robbery at Sunset Avenue, Llandudno, on September 14.
The matter was reported at the Hout Bay Police Station and transferred to the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit for further investigation.
The officers were charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, reportedly for R20 million worth of jewellery.
Several Cartier and Rolex jewellery boxes were found while searching the premises, however, Groenewald said all these boxes were empty.
He said he had asked one of the occupants about the empty boxes. “He then went on to tell me that they buy the jewellery in Bitcoin online.
“Upon receiving the jewellery, they take the actual jewellery piece and give it to various jewellery stores in Cape Town.
“Then the jewellery stores put it on display for them and sell it for them.”
He said once a client says they’re interested in purchasing the pieces, the individual is then called to bring the box and warranty to the store.
“The person then takes the jewellery box down to the store and they place the physical jewellery item inside the box that matches the serial numbers and warranty.
“The sale is then completed and the jewellery store owner will then pay the person out in cash for his pieces.
“Hence turning Bitcoin into currency without putting name on paper.
“That part the guy didn’t tell, that part, it’s just my assumption.”
Groenewald said he did not understand why the officers were being charged for items they did not even see at the premises.
“We’re being charged for stealing something we never even saw.
“All the jewellery boxes inside the house that we saw were empty.”
Prior to the incident, Groenewald said an informant mentioned a narcotics warehouse in Killarney Gardens.
The informant said he knew the two suspects and that they were wanted by international police for online scamming in other countries, and at least one is wanted in South Africa. He further added that while they were young and harmless, they were connected to prominent gang members and had law enforcement on their payroll.
The information on the two suspects led them to the residence in Llandudno.
Groenewald said a Malawian individual residing near the warehouse in Killarney Gardens was to show them the premises in Killarney Gardens, but was not home at the time.
“According to information, this Malawian citizen is the one that gets contacted by the Nigerian nationals to go and collect the drugs at this Killarney Gardens address and is going to make it ready for collection by various people that they sell it to.
“So then that person was not available, so only then it became apparent that they can’t get hold of this guy and the only other way now is the people that call him, they were just friends with these informants, it’s the two guys that stay in Llandudno.”
Groenewald maintains that nothing was taken from the house and that the objective was to apprehend the two suspects and take them to the Hout Bay Police Station and not to search the house.
“We wanted to make a bust, we wanted to have this big drug bust in our name.”
He said they were also informed that the two suspects were in the country illegally.
On why arrest warrants were not applied for first, Groenewald said: “We were following up information from informants. We were acting as the information came in. It was evident that they were there now and they could be apprehended now. It was also late at night.”
Groenewald confirmed that he had tampered with the licence plates.
“It was very easy. I just took three pieces of numbers with double-side tape and attached it.
“It's not number plates; it's just pieces of a number plate.”
When asked why he had old pieces of number plates at his home, Groenewald said: “Because it's an old number plate of one of my cars. At one stage I bought and sold cars from an auction.”
He said this was done because the vehicle was at his home frequently and he didn’t want to become a “target” during the arrest.
The number plates placed on his vehicle were registered to police vehicles from somewhere in the Western Cape, it was heard. The matter is expected to resume today.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za