Three police officers have been arrested following an intelligence-driven joint operation between the SAPS and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department.

The officers in question allegedly thought it would be a good idea to try and bribe a member of the mayoral committee in charge of human settlements, Lesiba Mpya.

They weren’t asking for much – just R5 million.

News24 reports that the cops claimed to be in possession of a dossier containing evidence of alleged corruption and malfeasance by Mpya, Mayor Mzwandile Masina, City manager Imogen Mashazi, and other senior political figures in the region.

According to the statement, the accused demanded that Mpya pay the R5m to “make the dossier disappear”.

But Mpya approached the police and opened a case of extortion and corruption against the three police officials.

Mpya took part in the sting operation on Wednesday evening. He dropped the money off at a venue the accused had allegedly chosen.

“Upon handing over the money to the accused, police authorities pounced on the three police officials and arrested them.”

The three accused have also been linked to viral WhatsApp messages doing the rounds a couple of months ago that claimed that Masina’s administration was engaged in corrupt activities. The messages were apparently an attempt to intimidate Masina and Mpya into paying the R5 million.

This is an example of why WhatsApp is upping its security.

So stay sceptical. You can’t even trust the police these days.

[source:news24]