Police officers busted for destroying evidence

Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday May 18, 2016 16:20

The officers, named in court papers as Sub Inspector Borakanyane and Detective Sergeant Bagwasi, were tasked with investigating the source of copper cables valued at P100,000 seized from one Mehakar Singh’s company, Trilanes Scrap Metal.

The copper was seized sometime in June 2014.

Police suspect the company is part of a syndicate dealing with the illegal stripping and trading of copper cables, which are later sold in South Africa. The seized copper was believed to be from the Botswana Power Corporation and the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL), the two largest owners of copper wire in the country.

Details of the officers’ fate came in an answering affidavit written by the Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Kesetsenao Tshweneetsile, following a lawsuit issued against them by Singh. He is suing the police arguing that they have failed to ascertain whether the copper was stolen and are stalling investigations while refusing to give the copper back to him.

Tshweneetsile, in his answering affidavit, denied stalling the investigations and revealed the suspension of the two police officers, adding that the investigation was complex.

“The two investigating officers who were initially handling this case, Borakanyane and Bagwasi, have been placed on interdiction after having been found to have been acting in collusion with Singh to stall the investigation by destroying important documents, stealing the seized copper and proceeding with the matter in a lackluster and time consuming manner,” the deputy director said. He continued: “When this was discovered, swift disciplinary action was taken against these officers and they have currently been placed on interdiction from duty.” Tshweneetsile also said the copper seized did not belong to Singh in his personal capacity, but had been seized from his company.

“To our knowledge the applicant is a director in this company, and he cannot lay any claim whatsoever to the seized copper in his personal capacity ,on account of the fact that it was removed from the possession of ‘Trilanes Scrap Metal’ and not himself,” he said.

Tshweneetsile denied Singh’s allegations, maintaining that there was a strong and reasonable suspicion that the company was engaged in the illegal trade of copper cables, since the owner had also failed to account for the said copper. He pointed out that investigations had also been stalled due to the fact that the police needed assistance from both BPC and BTCL to identify the evidence and procure experts from their suppliers.

He said this was the reason Singh had not been charged with any offence and was walking free.

In his founding affidavit, Singh had asked the High Court for an order against the police, for them to return the copper cables. He argued that it had been a year since the seizure and the CID had so far not identified any claimant and kept on saying they were still investigating. “To date I have not been charged with the offence of common theft or any other. The seizure and continuing retention of my copper is unmeritorious, wrongful and unlawful,” he said.

Singh also argued that he had furnished the CID with all the names and particulars of the people who sold the copper cables to him which indicated that the CID were on a “witch hunt”. The two parties are due to receive a court date.