Pretoria - A 32-year-old man was arrested for impersonating a police officer after he was found wearing a Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) reflective jacket and cap.
Xolani Fihla, spokesperson for the JMPD said the man was arrested on Tuesday after police were tipped off by community members.
“On Tuesday, 20 June 2023, whilst conducting crime prevention patrols in Eldorado Park, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department operations officers were approached by community members who indicated that they saw a male who is not a police officer wearing JMPD uniform,” Fihla said.
“The officers proceeded to the Eldorado Park Shopping Center where the male was last seen, and upon their arrival, they found the said male at the parking lot wearing a JMPD reflective jacket and cap.”
Fihla said after being quizzed by police, the man only said he got the regalia from a friend.
“The male was questioned as to how he acquired the uniform, and he alluded that he obtained it from his friend, but failed to disclose who his friend was,” said Fihla.
“The 32-year-old suspect was arrested for impersonating a police officer and he was detained at Eldorado Park SAPS where a case docket was opened for further investigation.”
On Wednesday, three bogus police officers who allegedly hijacked a truck transporting cigarettes worth R4 million while wearing police uniform were arrested.
Police said four other suspects were still at large, but three suspects, among them two foreign nationals, had been arrested.
The incident happened at Koppies in the Free State.
According to the truck owner, who asked not to be named out of fear, said the driver was on his way to deliver the stock in Cape Town on Tuesday when he was flagged down by a uniformed police officer.
The owner said her company had booked an escort for the truck and it was supposed to follow the driver out of Johannesburg.
IOL