A POLICE officer who was meant to investigate and curb vehicle-related crime was convicted and sentenced on two counts of fraud for taking bribes to doctor vehicle ownership records at his workplace, the SAPS vehicle pound in Isipingo.
Instead of reuniting owners with recovered vehicles, he sold their cars to others for cash.
Armstrong Dlamini, 32, appeared before magistrate Shoba Maharaj in the Durban Regional Court on Monday to enter into a Section 105A plea and sentencing agreement with the State.
Vishalan Moodley represented the State.
Dlamini, a Vehicle Crime Investigating Unit member, pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced to eight years’ jail, wholly suspended for five years, provided he did not commit fraud, theft or similar acts of dishonesty during the suspension period.
A further sentencing condition was that he paid R150 000 compensation in accordance with the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, which aims to seize assets from convicted criminals who benefitted from their crimes, and driven by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.
Dlamini accepted a payment plan and made the first instalment of R50 000 on Monday.
He must pay R20 000 monthly thereafter, with the final instalment due on or before January 31, 2025.
Apart from investigating vehicle-related crime, Dlamini also had the capacity to release stolen vehicles to lawful owners, but took certain liberties with the responsibility he had.
A stolen silver Toyota Etios was seized and kept at the pound for the purposes of investigation.
The son of the owner of another Etios, which was also stolen and remained missing, enquired from Dlamini around September 2019 whether his father’s car had been recovered, but it had not.
The son asked Dlamini if “anything else” could be done to help his father. After realising that there was a silver Etios that was yet to be claimed, Dlamini concocted a plan and told the son he could “arrange the car for a fee of R15 000”.
A few weeks later, the son sent someone on his behalf to pay Dlamini R15 000.
Dlamini manipulated the system and changed the ownership details of the impounded Etios to that of the father, and falsely recorded that it had been recovered in Isipingo.
In that way, he was able to release the vehicle.
A VW Polo owner reported his vehicle stolen in August 2018.
A man who was in possession of the stolen Polo approached Dlamini and requested that he remove the car from the list of stolen vehicles.
Dlamini accessed the SAPS’ vehicle circulation system, used his password, electronically recorded the Polo as having been recovered, and charged R2 500 for his services.
The man then produced paperwork to be submitted to the motor vehicle licensing office, including his ID and a copy of the log book, which Dlamini filled manually and endorsed with an official SAPS stamp in January 2020.
Dlamini’s criminal activities came to light when a commander in his unit received information that something untoward was going on with the release of the vehicle that he handled.
The commander saw an individual matching the description of someone believed to be involved in the fraudulent act, according to the tip-off, at the pound.
The individual was there to collect a vehicle with doctored documents.
Upon scrutinising the documents and inspecting the vehicle, the commander realised the system had been manipulated.
A vehicle tracking company spotted the Polo near the Westwood Mall in Sherwood and made enquiries.
Further investigation confirmed that Dlamini was responsible for manipulating the SAPS system.
He was arrested in June 2020 by a member of his unit and later received bail.
In mitigation, Dlamini said he was “extremely remorseful for his conduct”, had already been subjected to a disciplinary hearing at work and had to live with the shame.
The State submitted that it was fortunate that the offences committed were detected and the prejudicial effects suffered by the victims were rectified. Fraud was a serious offence, especially when it was perpetrated by a police officer employed to uphold the law.
Dlamini’s conduct was an embarrassment to the SAPS and government workers, and service delivery was being hamstrung by its own employees.
Time and financial and human resources were required during the protracted investigations. Therefore, a just sentence was requested to compensate the State accordingly.