Four members of the South African Police Service and a police informer have been sentenced to an effective 15 years’ direct imprisonment for a violent and unlawful operation that saw about R1.2 million stolen from foreign nationals.
The Randburg Magistrates’ Court sentenced Tebogo Michael Moeketse, Choema Eric Moabelo, Isram Moaone Phala, Kagiso Arthur Masibi, and informer Walter Enow Agbor after they were convicted on charges including robbery, kidnapping, corruption, theft and defeating the ends of justice.
Although each accused received a combined 38-year sentence, the terms will run concurrently, resulting in an effective 15-year jail term.
The court heard the case stemmed from an unlawful operation carried out in Randburg on 8 May 2018. Investigators found there were no lawful arrests made, no criminal cases registered, and no legitimate record accounting for the seized cash.
Prosecutors told the court the group operated as a coordinated unit, carrying out the robbery, kidnapping the victims, and later attempting to conceal the crime through falsified paperwork and a fabricated paper trail.
