Cape Town - As the bail application for the four police officers accused in the R20 million jewellery heist in Llandudno started on Thursday, the first accused said he blamed himself that his colleagues were behind bars.
Sergeant Jacobus Groenewald told the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court how constables Bradley Minnaar, Mthuthuzeli Mafanya and Bathandwa Soldati were roped into the raid at the house in Llandudno on September 14.
They face a robbery with aggravating circumstances charge.
Groenewald, who has been a police officer for 17 years, told the court he had acted on information he received from an informant about abalone and his superior gave him the go-ahead to raid the property.
At the time he received the call, he was off-duty and was on his way to drop off two colleagues in Khayelitsha and Cape Town, but later met with the three other accused.
“They told me that the suspects were alone at the house in Llandudno and that the suspects were unarmed and were not violent. We would be able to apprehend them without any hassle. At that stage, I made the decision to go to the address. I was looking for proof of their residency in South Africa.
“I was going to take them down to the Hout Bay police station and scan their fingerprints. I was also looking for any municipal documents that could link them to the Killarney Gardens warehouse.
“The informants said the Nigerians have a lot of money on Bitcoin and they had connections to gangs and law enforcement.
“When we arrived at the address I gave one of the informants a balaclava because he is known to the suspects.
“The two of us covered our faces with buffs and the two others didn’t cover their faces.”
He said he gained access into the yard and one of the occupants saw him and they ran but they managed to catch three suspects and raided the house where they found empty Rolex and Cartier boxes.
“We split up in three groups, each with an occupant. They were with us all the time in case they would think we planted anything or took anything.
“I was the only one with a gun and the other three were not in possession of guns.
“As we got to the main bedroom, there were multiple Cartier and Rolex boxes. All of them empty.
“If we were there to rob the place, we would have worn gloves.
“I’m the senior officer and they (other accused) are here for the decisions that I made that night, all three are good policemen.”
The case was postponed to Tuesday when the State is expected to cross-examine Groenewald.