Pretoria – A 30-year-old police constable stationed at the Dunnottar police station just outside Springs in Gauteng was on Tuesday arrested by the Hawks for allegedly conspiring with suspects to rob the same station of its firearms.
When the Dunnottar police station was attacked on the night of 8 June 2015, in an incident which saw Warrant Officer Aaron Vusi Mahlangu lying in hospital for over two months after he was shot eight times, the motive of the attack was unknown but it has since emerged that aim of the suspects was to get access to the safe and steal firearms.
A month later three suspects, Mduduzi Jali (49), Prince Mnisi- Thobe Zondozi (38) and John Molefe (45), also known as London were arrested in Kwa-Thema. With the suspects confessing that they were assured by the arrested constable that only one female Sergeant would be working at the Community Service Centre, and that he would be on duty but patrolling outside, the suspects stormed the station and were puzzled to find Warrant Officer Mahlangu and another constable behind the CSC desk.
The suspects started shooting, injuring Warrant Officer Mahlangu while the other member escaped unharmed. The brave Warrant Officer Mahlangu shot back until the suspects fled. The arrested constable fooled everyone by rushing back to the station and opened the case docket. The suspects confessed that they had planned to use the firearms to commit armed robbery in Mpumalanga.
Retrieved telephone conversations have linked the constable with the three suspects. They were also communicating on the night of the attack. Jali and Molefe are still behind bars while Zondozi has been released on R10 000. All of them will be back before the Nigel Magistrate’s Court on 13 November 2015.
The constable, whose appointment certificate and identity document are nowhere to be found, will appear before the Nigel Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, facing charges of attempted murder, corruption, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit crime, malicious damage to property, possession of unlicensed firearm and well as unlawful possession of ammunition.
