A former Nyanga SAPS constable Sandile Edward Mroqoza (40) has been jailed for 20 years. This is after the officer and his co-accused robbed a G4S cash-in-transit van using a SAPS vehicle. The incident happened in May 2016 on the Waarburgh Road, Joostenberg Vlakte, Kraaifontein. The SAPS van was marked Nyanga Vispol.
On Thursday 06 April, Mroqoza was sentenced to 20 years direct imprisonment for a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
According to Hawks spokeswoman Zinzi Hani, the officer used the SAPS van to force the G4S cash van to stop. When the van stopped, two people wearing police uniforms walked out the van threatened the driver of the van. Mroqoza and his crew reversed the SAPS vehicle so that its back faces the back of the G4S van. After that they emptied all the cash into the SAPS van before driving off.
They were accompanied by four other people who were not in uniforms. They took the firearms from the cash van’s guards.
Hawks spokeswoman Zinzi Hani said: “The suspects threatened the driver of the armoured vehicle with firearms and forced him to open the back of the vehicle. They reversed the SAPS vehicle with its back to the G4S truck whereby they emptied the drop-safes. The driver and the crewman’s firearms were taken. The crewman was slightly injured after being hit on the head with a firearm.”
The robbers made off with R2.2 million. Few days after the incident investigations led officers to Mroqoza who was attached at Nyanga SAPS at the time. When police searched his house, they recovered lots of money inside black bags hidden inside his fridge.