Sixteen people, including senior police officers and an alleged underworld kingpin, have been arrested in connection with fraud and corruption.
The arrests follow a three-year investigation into the issuing of gun licenses without verification or following protocols.
Police say the National Anti-Gang Unit conducted the investigation in the Western Cape. They found that a number of people, including alleged Cape Town underworld figures obtained firearm licenses from the Edenvale, Norwood and Kempton Park police stations in Gauteng in an allegedly wrongful manner.
Five suspects are yet to be arrested.
National Police Spokesperson Vish Naidoo says the suspects will appear in court today.
“The suspects were arrested on the 16th of June 2020 and they will thereafter join other accused who were arrested between the beginning of June and middle of June in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on the tenth of July 2020.”
The arrests come more than a week after eight police officers, a retired lieutenant-general and six citizens were arrested for alleged links to a police tender fraud scandal.
National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole established a Special Anti-Corruption Task Team following serious allegations of corruption and related crimes, dating back to 2017 against some members of the SAPS.
Below is a SABC News report on the arrest of eight senior police officials:
