8 KZN Hawks members held

The head of the KwaZulu-Natal Hawks and seven of his top detectives were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder yesterday. 22 August 2012 | PAUL KIRK DURBAN - At the time of going to press, Advocate Paul Jorgensen, acting for Major-General Johan Booysen, the provincial head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal, said he was preparing an urgent after-hours application to the Durban High Court to force the State to allow an after- hours bail application for his clients. The arrests followed an investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the Hawks. IPID spokesman Moses Dlamini said the State would not oppose bail. Dlamini said the IPID investigation into allegations that some of Booysen’s detectives operated as a “death squad” was complete. “We are ready to go to trial now. Everything is done. We can start the prosecution tomorrow if we can only get a court day.” Claims that Booysen’s detectives, based at the Cato Manor Serious Violent Crimes Unit, operated as a death squad were made last year in a weekly newspaper. After the allegations, Booysen had been suspended but two Labour Court actions forced the SA Police Service (SAPS) to reinstate Booysen, who is seeking damages from the Police Minister and the Commissioner of Police. Among those arrested was Captain Nico Crouse who drove from the Port Shepstone Serious and Violent Crimes Unit to hand himself over. After being taken into the Police Air Wing building where IPID spokesman Moses Dlamini had assembled the media, Crouse was fingerprinted and frogmarched out in plastic cable ties. Along with all the other arrested policemen, Crouse was walked past the media and driven to his home which was then searched. Booysen was arrested at his Durban office and taken to his home where Hawks investigators under Major-General Jan Mabula searched the residence. The Citizen Comments by Sony Should ex-Commissioner Cele not have been one of the accused as well? He in fact gave the commands! The real 'witch hunt' should have started in Parliament! THE SAP / SAPS HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A PAWN IN THE HANDS OF POLITICIANS!