A man was arrested on Monday after impersonating a top cop from SAPS Head Office in Pretoria.The man was caught at the Midrand Police station where he is alleged to have tried to get access to the captain's office in Midrand.

BOGUS COP

According to a source, the man visited Midrand Police Station and began threatening cops that he was going to fire them if they didn't assist him as a top cop from the head office in Pretoria. "Everyone believed that he was from the head office because he was demanding lot of information and giving instructions as if he was a real cop.  Judging by the car he was driving and his behaviour, we were convinced he was from the head office," the source adds.

BRAVE COP

It took one brave cop to challenge him and quizzed him about police rank only to discover he had no clue about police rank. He was arrested on the spot. "One of our colleague of interrogated him after he notoced that something was amiss about him. The cop discovered that the guy was in fact a criminal who wanted to steal some information in Midrand. The man was not an employee of the SAPS. They find out later that police van had also been stolen. His intention was to access the captain's office," the cop said.Captain Mavela Masondo asked to be contacted today because he was off duty last night.

CAR STOLEN 

SAPS Gauteng Police Spokesperson Mavela Masondo explains that the car the bogus cop was using was, in fact, stolen. He says that, "On Tuesday, 27 February 2023, at around 13h00, members of Ekurhuleni District Crime Intelligence, Trio Task Team, Tembisa Tracing Team and Highway Patrol Unit acted on a tip-off regarding a suspicious marked South African Police Service vehicle in Rabie Ridge area. Information was followed whereby a Mazda BT50 resembling SAPS Provincial Head Office vehicle was intercepted while driving out of a plot in Midrand, Moderfontein road. Masondo further said: "The driver managed to flee the scene but he was pursued and apprehended. Preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicle was stolen in Bedfordview in December 2022. It is believed that the vehicle was being used to commit truck hijackings. While the police were busy at the crime scene, a man arrived and requested the members to release the suspect, offering them R5000 as bribery. The 46-year-old was immediately placed under arrest for bribery," he said.The suspects will appear in court soon.