Hawks official accused of running off and blowing cash from sting operation

A Northern Cape official with the Hawks is facing a charge of theft after allegedly disappearing with money used in a sting operation.

The 43-year-old warrant officer appeared briefly at Springbok magistrate's court on Tuesday, the Hawks said in a statement on Wednesday. It is alleged that he was part of a covert operation last month whereby an amount of R50,000 was withdrawn from the state account to be used in the sting.

During the sting operation, only R20,000 was used and the remainder was supposed to be returned.

However, the official allegedly “booked off sick and disappeared with the remaining R30,000, using  it for his own personal gain”.

“Various attempts were made to trace him, to no avail, until a decision was taken to open a theft case.”

A tracing team was set up to lead the search.

“The team managed to track and arrest him in and around Springbok and during his arrest about R11,000 was seized.”

The warrant officer is out on a warning. The case was postponed to September 15 for further investigation.

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