Three police imposters nabbed

…while one suspect escapes

Staff Reporter

IN a swift response to a tip-off from Motimposo, Operation Fiela has arrested three suspects who allegedly posed as police officers and extorted bribes from street vendors in the same area on Friday evening.

One suspect remains at large.

Operation Fiela is a collaborative initiative of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) and the National Security Service (NSS) created in March last year to combat the rampant crime paralysing the nation.

Motimposo Chief, Leloko Theko, confirmed that the incident had occurred but referred this publication to one of his assistants, who was close to the incident, to provide details.

Speaking on behalf of Chief Theko, Teboho Katiba said a local vendor had approached him after allegedly being ordered to pay a bribe by people claiming to be police officers.

Mr Katiba said the vendor reported that the suspects had pointed a gun at him and demanded money.

He said while the vendor was reporting the matter, a Honda Fit allegedly used by the suspects drove past towards Tšenola before quickly turning onto a gravel road leading to Ha Ts’iu.

“There is one hawker near Terminus, so yesterday (Friday) around 20:00, he came to me and told me that there were four people (three men and one woman) who just left his place after pointing a gun at him and ordered him to pay a bribe for selling after hours,” Mr Katiba said.

“He told me that they took between M700 and M800. As he was narrating the ordeal, a Honda Fit that the suspects we were travelling with passed by in Tšenola direction but quickly turned to Ha Tšiu and parked at a house of a woman who sells traditional beer and quarts. We quickly called Operation Fiela as they respond quickly,” he stated.

Mr Katiba said the suspects allegedly also demanded money from the woman, who initially gave them M300, but they insisted that she pay at least M500.

“The suspects were also asking for a bribe from the woman who gave the M300. The suspects told the woman that they wanted at least M500 otherwise they would take her child and put her in the boot. The woman went with them to a nearby tavern to borrow money,” Mr Katiba said.

He said the suspects were apprehended at the tavern after Operation Fiela officers arrived, although one managed to escape.

“That is where they were held up and the Operation officers arrived and arrested three while one escaped because there was this (alleged) police officer and two men and one woman. The police officer works at Pitso Ground at Traffic. We don’t know any of the suspects but we believe the one who escaped is from Ha Phokoane Motimposo. They work in cahoots because a woman made a phone call and claimed that her boss wants a drink,” Mr Katiba said.

Contacted for comment, Police spokesperson, Superintendent Thabo Mohai, said he was unaware of the incident.

Supt Mohai said that when he left the office on Friday, there had been no report of such a case. He added that because the alleged incident occurred at night, he had no information on it and could only verify the matter on Monday.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact army spokesperson, Colonel Sakeng Lekola, were unsuccessful, as his phone rang unanswered.