FREE STATE – Two suspects aged between 30 and 38 were arrested yesterday by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Welkom, Crime Intelligence (CI) as well as Provincial Anti-Corruption in Free State.

Their arrest originates from an incident which took place on the 14 and 15 March 2022 where an official from the department of Labour was conducting inspections at restaurants based in Odendaalsrus. During the inspection, it was discovered that one of the restaurants was not complying with the regulations of the Department of Labour. A fine of more than R200 000 was then issued by the official to the restaurant owner.

The suspect then offered to pay-off the official in order to avoid paying the fine. The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Welkom. A sting operation was conducted yesterday by the police which led to the arrest of the suspects after offering R15 000 to the official.

The suspects are expected to appear before the Welkom Magistrates’ court tomorrow, 08 April 2022.

Source: South African Police Service