‘Skelm’ agent arrested

A Mowbray officer accused of stealing money linked to clearance certificates will make his first appearance at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court after being captured by the Anti-Corruption Unit this weekend.

The officer is the 15th Western Cape police officer arrested in the past month as the ACU pressures police officers accused of breaking the law.

According to a source, the unit was alerted to strange activity when it became known that no money had been raised for criminal clearance certificates despite applications being submitted.

“He was responsible for doing the criminal clearances at the station. Each person applying must pay a fee of R85, either by paying in cash or by conducting an EFT. This reimbursement does not apply to neighborhood watches, as they receive this service for free.

“So when he made applications for private individuals, he marked them as patrollers and pocketed the money. It is not clear how many applications he has made in this way so far,” the source explains.

Confirming the arrest, police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said: “The Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit arrested the 36-year-old officer after receiving information that he had accepted cash from members of the public who had applied for a name clearance.

“A sting operation was conducted and the member was subsequently arrested. He will appear before the Wynberg Magistrates Court on Monday on the said charge.”

In recent weeks the unit has arrested 15 officers for a range of crimes, including house robberies worth R20 million, the extortion of business owners in Milnerton and other crimes.

Rafique Foflonker of the Western Cape Provincial Community Police Forum board welcomes all the arrests.

“Investigations leading to the arrest of police members require integrity and dedication and it is clear that there are many great police officers working hard to root out crime within the ranks. As a community, we must commend them and support their efforts.”

(email protected)