Cop held after hidden evidence found
Johannesburg - A Sandton police constable has been
arrested after crime scene reports and evidence was found hidden in his room,
police said on Tuesday.
A constable from the Local Criminal Records Centre
in Sandton was arrested along with a civilian employee from the Linden police
station, said Lt-Gen Solomon Makgale.
Makgale said the constable had been working as a
crime scene expert and had attended crime scenes since January. However, he
failed to register the results into the evidence register and process the
reports.
“When it was time for those exhibits to be used as
evidence in court he was unable to. This led a team of investigators from the
national investigation unit to the constable's room in the police barracks,”
said Makgale.
“His room was searched and exhibits and crime scene
reports, which were not processed and never entered into any of the relevant
registers, were found there.”
The team also found two firearms which they later
discovered were supposed to have been stored as exhibits at the Linden police
station.
The police could not give a proper explanation why
he was in possession of the firearms. The investigation team also found several
R1, R5 and 9mm bullets in his safe.
The two were arrested in September and have already
appeared in court. Police only released the information on Tuesday.
Makgale said the constable was out on bail and the
civilian out on warning.
They were due to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's
Court on December 2. - Sapa
