A Johannesburg man has accused a police officer of attempting to extort money from him in exchange for the return of goods stolen during an armed robbery at his home.
Joseph Mohoaduba, who lives in Mondeor, said his family was traumatised in March when two armed men broke into their property, robbed them at gunpoint, and drove off in his son’s vehicle filled with personal items, including music equipment. His son was later abandoned in Naturena.
Mohoaduba immediately opened a case at the Mondeor police station. However, he was stunned when he received a phone call the next day from a man identifying himself as Captain Mahube. The caller claimed to have arrested five suspects in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, and said they had been driving the stolen car and were in possession of the robbed items.
According to Mohoaduba, the caller demanded R2,000 via e-wallet for a clearance certificate and to facilitate the return of the vehicle to Johannesburg. Suspicious, Mohoaduba offered a larger sum in cash and requested a bank account for a direct deposit instead.
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“He told me using a bank account would get him fired,” Mohoaduba said. “When I refused to send the money by e-wallet, he deleted our WhatsApp conversations.”
However, a file the officer had shared—including Mohoaduba’s police statement and the identity documents of an officer named LL Mahube—was automatically backed up to his device.
Mohoaduba expressed shock and concern over how an officer based in Kuruman, Northern Cape, could access case information from Johannesburg, raising fears of possible police involvement in criminal activity.