A high-ranking police officer accused of selling a bomb is set to lose his bakkie worth R60,000 following an order by the High Court in Pretoria, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said today.
"On January 11 the North Gauteng High Court granted a forfeiture order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act in respect of a Daewoo Lanos bakkie valued at R60,000 belonging to Senior Supt Noko Johannes Mothupi," NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said in a statement.
The bakkie would be confiscated by the state as it was allegedly used to commit a crime.
Mothupi, a senior member of the Silverton police station, has been dismissed from the service. He allegedly used his bakkie to transport and conceal a Russian military bomb.
He was arrested on June 5, 2008 in a sting operation at the Sheraton Hotel in Arcadia, Pretoria after he allegedly attempted to sell the bomb for R6 million, under the pretext that it was enriched uranium.
The device was analysed for radioactivity by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa). It was not known how Mothupi obtained the bomb.
His criminal case, for contravening the Firearms Control Act, had been partly heard in Pretoria Magistrate's Court and would resume on April 8. He was out on R5,000 bail.
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