A VIDEO of a police van offloading alcohol has angered South Africans.
Many have complained that ordinary citizens are arrested for having a few beers while cops transport booze and possibly even illegal substances.
Since the video recently went viral, the cop in it has been identified.
Gauteng acting commissioner Major-General Tommy Mthombeni has commended the SAPS for swiftly conducting an internal investigation.
Police spokeswoman Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said on Tuesday, 12 January, the SAPS media monitoring team brought the video to the attention of management.
“An urgent investigation was launched to establish its origin as well as the location it was filmed in.
“The identities of the people in the video, confirmation of what was being delivered and the station the vehicle was attached to were also investigated,” she said.
Peters said the investigation, led by Tshwane district commissioner Major-General Hilda Mohajane, was finalised quickly and led to the opening of cases of using a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent and going against the Disaster Management Act.
“It was found that the incident happened at a shopping mall in Centurion policed by the Lyttelton SAPS and an unconfirmed volume of liquor was being offloaded from the SAPS van,” she said.
Peters said the officer involved would face disciplinary action.
Major-General Mthombeni said: “The acting provincial commissioner has further commended the role of the public, who after the origin of the video clip was established co-operated and assisted police in the investigation,” she said.
“No one is above the law.”
