A police officer who turned rogue and stole nearly two million rand from his employer – the South African Police Service (SAPS) – has been slapped with a 10-year prison sentence.
The Rustenburg Regional Court on Wednesday sentenced 47-year-old former warrant officer, Stephan Ferreira, to a decade behind bars for defrauding SAPS of just over R1.7million.
Recounting when the accused turned rogue, Captain Lloyd Ramovha said Ferreira was attached to the police’s finance department in Rustenburg up until around 2015.
Ferreira resigned after allegations of deceitfully using his fellow unsuspecting co-workers’ log-on credentials came to light.
Through the unlawful transactions, the accused managed to transfer funds into his personal bank account on at least 47 occasions in a period spanning five years.
Following an investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team, Ferreira was arrested. The accused made his first court appearance in January 2020.
After a series of court appearances, Ferreira was found guilty of the crimes on 6 December 2021.
The Acting National Head of the Hawks Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili welcomed the sentence and lauded both the investigating and Prosecuting teams.
“We shall continue to root out rogue elements from within our ranks without fear nor favour,” said Lieutenant General Mosikili.
