Johannesburg – The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) says a second suspect in the R15 million precious stones heist disguised as a lawful seizure has handed himself in at a police station where he was arrested.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping announced the arrest on Sunday, 5 July 2026.
The arrests came just over a week after “Witness K” implicated suspended Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief Julius Mkhwanazi in the theft of precious stones worth about R15 million.
Witness K explicitly implicated Mkhwanazi, whom she said was her boyfriend at the time, other EMPD officers and a civilian in the 2023 robbery at an apartment in Killarney, Johannesburg.
Soon after the theft, the owner of the precious stones reported the matter to the police, culminating in the IPID probe.
Some of the stolen precious stones were allegedly recovered from the car of one of the EMPD officers.
Initially, there were six suspects, three from EMPD, one from Gauteng Traffic Police, one from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, and a businessman who allegedly posed as a police officer.
Witness K’s in-camera confession at the Madlanga Commission appears to have accelerated the investigations into the matter.
On Friday, 3 July 2026, IPID swooped on several residences, where the suspects were believed to live.
IPID arrested one person, who has not been named.
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Today, Suping said IPID arrested the second suspect for the alleged raid and seizure of precious stones in Killarney, Johannesburg, without a warrant, in 2023
“Two warrants of arrest have now been effected, and we are still pursuing the third suspect,” Suping said.
“The second suspect handed himself in at the Edenvale Police Station just after 18:00.”
The IPID spokesperson said the suspects will appear before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, Monday, 6 July 2026.
