R65k bribe offered to cops during KZN guest house raid forfeited to state

Bribery money offered to police officers conducting a raid at a guest house in Ballito on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast has been forfeited to the state, the Hawks confirmed on Thursday.

This comes after the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) was granted a final forfeiture order for the R65,800 a suspect offered police in exchange for not being arrested.

The order was granted by the KwaDukuza magistrate's court.

Hawks KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Lt-Col Simphiwe Mhlongo said the money was seized during the entity's operation in Ballito in March last year.

“Members received information about [alleged] fraud activities taking place in one of the guest houses in Ballito. They proceeded to the estate and a search was conducted. Computers and other gadgets were seized. During the operation, the accused offered R65,800 to the police. Police charged the accused for offering gratification to the police,” he said.

The matter was referred to Hawks members from the asset forfeiture investigation unit, who worked with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to secure the final forfeiture order. 

Mhlongo said the forfeited cash was deposited into the criminal assets recovery account (CARA) on Tuesday.

Hawks KwaZulu-Natal boss Maj-Gen Lesetja Senona congratulated the team on the good work.

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