Hawks confirms State Security thieves are employees
Hawks confirmed that the two arrested were State Security employees.
Gopolang Chawane
Two of the men charged for the theft of millions from State Security Agency are employed by the agency, the Hawks have confirmed.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said one of the accused was a security guard while the other was the “close protector” to the director general at the agency’s foreign department.
The two, Khayalethu Mgatyela and Myaku Mmotong, were charged with burglary and theft of R17 million in foreign currency stolen from the agency’s headquarters in December. Initial reports had been that R50 million was taken.
Mulaudzi said this was a significant breakthrough in the investigation.
The two appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, Mgatyelwa on Friday, and Mmotong briefly on Monday morning, and the cases were postponed to Tuesday, 19 January.
The men were arrested last week, on Tuesday and Thursday, but Mulaudzi said the Hawks was still pursuing other suspects.
Mulaudzi said a group of men entered the premises on Boxing Day, one of them was captured by CCTV camera casually walking down the agency corridor. They stole the money from a safe and fled, but the crime was only detected the following day, he said.
He asked the public with information that could assist in the arrest of the rest to contact Colonel Tolie Vreugdengburg at 082-451-7226 or Colonel Makasela Nkuna at 082-565-8506.
“All information will be handled with the strictest of confidence if it can aid in the apprehension of these dangerous criminals,” said Mulaudzi.
Also read:
State Security burglars appear in court
Reward offered for capture of State Security robbers
Hawks nab two State Security burglars
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