Durban - A police officer, stationed within the Durban Organised Crime Unit (OCU), has been jailed for 15 years for stealing firearms. Daniel Casparus Reynecke, a Warrant Officer with SAPS, would take firearms seized in crimes he was investigating and while some were found dumped in a river near his home, others were found in his possession.
Sixty-five-year-old Reynecke was convicted on four counts of theft of firearms, two counts of possession of prohibited firearms as well as possession of ammunition and loss of a firearm.
“Reynecke was a Warrant Officer with the South African Police Service, attached to the Durban OCU and worked for the SAPS from 1976 to 2015,” said provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Natasha Ramkissoon-Kara.
Reynecke was stationed at various policing units in the province and would investigate criminal matters including fetching weapons used in the commission of crimes, for ballistic testing.
Ramkissoon-Kara said as is SAPS procedure, the exhibit clerk to accept the exhibits and to record such officially in the SAP13 exhibit register. When an exhibit is booked out for whatever reason, the SAP13 or exhibit register would be updated to indicate what was removed, who removed it and for what reason.
Ramkissoon-Kara said during the commission of his duties, Reynecke would book out the firearms and not return them.
“Following a detailed investigation, it was discovered that Reynecke was the investigating officer in the matters where the firearms found in his possession, were exhibits. Two of the firearms, which he signed for in 1997 and 2001, were found in a river in Amanzimtoti, about 500 metres away from where he resided at the time,” she said.
Other firearms were found in his office, despite a standing order which did not permit the members of the OCU to keep exhibits on the premises.
“Two of the firearms found in his office had no dockets registered for them and no serial numbers, thus rendering him in possession of prohibited firearms.
“He was arrested after an audit was conducted on the Exhibit / SAP13 Storerooms at 71 police stations throughout KwaZulu-Natal,” Ramkissoon-Kara said.
She added that in court, Senior State Advocates Annelise Harrison and Yoliswa Nyakata led the documentary evidence as well as the testimonies of SAPS officials who explained the procedures for the SAP13 exhibit register.
Explanation of sentence:
Reynecke was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for the theft of firearms (all taken as one for the purpose of sentencing, 10 years’ imprisonment for the possession of firearms (taken as one) and three years’ imprisonment for the loss of the firearm and possession of ammunition (taken as one). The three years will run concurrently with the 10-year sentence, resulting in the effective 15 years’ imprisonment.
“The NPA welcomes this successful prosecution and commends the work done by the prosecution and the investigating team. This matter is indicative of the NPA’s commitment to holding state officials accountable for their unlawful actions,” Ramkissoon-Kara said.
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