EMPD officer Adrian MacKenzie and former EMPD officer Kersha-Leigh Stols told the court that they were simply following suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi's orders.
Two people accused of participating in the alleged robbery of precious stones worth R14.9 million have told the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court they acted on instructions they claim were given by suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) deputy chief Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi.
The allegations emerged during the bail application of EMPD officer Adrian MacKenzie and former EMPD officer Kersha-Leigh Stols, who face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and fraud.
The pair were arrested in connection with an incident at a a flat in Killarney, Johannesburg, on February 11, 2023.
According to the State, MacKenzie and Stols falsely presented themselves as members of a multidisciplinary law enforcement team comprising officials from the EMPD and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), claiming they were investigating suspected lithium smuggling.
