KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu welcomes the arrest of two bogus traffic officers who were conducting an illegal operation in Pietermaritzburg.
This morning, 11 November 2012 police were given a tip-off by motorists on bogus traffic officers operating on Victoria Road in Pietermaritzburg. The two “illegal officers” were wearing Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) uniform, which were believed to be stolen few weeks ago from a traffic officer.
It is believed they were stopping vehicles and demanding money to be paid by motorists. When police arrived they discovered that the two are not traffic officers and they were in possession of cash believed to have been collected during this illegal operation.
Police could not disclose the amount recovered and the two suspects. They are expected to appear in the Pietermaritzburg court tomorrow. Mchunu described this as a serious act of undermining law enforcement agencies and vowed that harsh actions will be taken against those committing crime.
“This undermines the work and the integrity of our traffic officers. It is unacceptable that people are committing crime and subjecting motorists to this kind of unnecessary trauma. This is the worse form of crime. I commend those motorists who took it upon themselves to report this matter to the police. I have no doubt that this will send a strong lesson. Our police will always identify themselves in a full uniform with name tags to avoid any opportunistic elements on the road. I urge motorists to be vigilant and to report such criminal matters to the police,” said Mchunu.
Media contact:
Kwanele Ncalane
Cell: 072 803 1462 or 076 699 5755
