PREMIUM: Witness claims SA President’s new elite traffic cops are a crime syndicate

This audio was posted on the BizNews Interactive Whatsapp forum by an unknown resident of Johannesburg sharing the corrupt modus operandi of the members of a Presidentially-established unit of SA's law enforcement agencies. We reached out to the man who recorded the voice note, requesting an interview. The events described in the audio allegedly occurred in mid-August..Edited and abridged transcript of the audio:.___STEADY_PAYWALL___.I wanted to share a recent experience that serves as a stark reminder of how fortunate you are to be out of this country. Last Friday morning, I drove out of Chartwell, where I live, and found myself on a busy road. I turned left onto a steep uphill that leads towards my workplace. Just 280 metres from where I started, I noticed a man with a camera monitoring the traffic speed. My speedometer showed I was doing 80 km/h in an 80 km/h zone..However, I was soon stopped by an elite traffic force, controversially established by the president himself. They were driving new BMWs and were heavily armed. They claimed I was doing 121 km/h and that I was under arrest due to a new law. This law states that exceeding the speed limit by over 40 km/h results in automatic arrest, rather than a mere fine. Despite my protests, they proceeded to arrest me..On the way to Douglasdale police station, the officer subtly hinted that paying R8,000 could make my problems disappear. Interestingly, this is the maximum daily ATM withdrawal limit in South Africa. I declined the offer, but the officer proceeded to threaten me indirectly by discussing a recent assassination in Rustenburg, making the risk to my life abundantly clear..Upon arriving at the police station, I found myself in a decrepit cell with six undocumented immigrants from Mozambique. I was the only white person there, and I had to remove my belt and shoelaces. My phone was taken, and I had no information on how long I would be there..Luckily, my colleague, Craig, came to the station and paid my bail. He was even told to bring Cokes for the officers, who unashamedly suggested they'd use the excess bail money for a lunch at Nando's. Later, I received a threatening call from another officer, who demanded a R5,000 bribe to make my case disappear. The threat was so severe that I felt compelled to pay..Now, I'm scheduled for court on Tuesday, and the grim reality is that our entire system is corrupted from top to bottom. I felt an immense sadness and vulnerability because I realised that the very people I pay to protect me are victimising me. I also felt guilt for having been so complacent about this problem until it happened to me..The loss of productivity and the emotional toll are immense, but most importantly, it became clear to me that there's no safety or justice here. The system is completely and utterly flawed, and the only sensible option is to leave if you can. The brazenness of the entire experience has revealed that we are simply victims, and there's nowhere to turn for help..So, count yourself fortunate not to be in this country anymore. This is our grim reality.

PREMIUM: Witness claims SA President’s new elite traffic cops are a crime syndicate

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