Court hears number of bank cards found at Durban cop's home ‘has doubled’
A detective told the Durban Magistrate’s Court
on Tuesday that some of the bank cards found at the home of a Durban cop were
stolen during the 2021 July unrest.
Constable Minenhle Makhaye was arrested after a bank card belonging to the mother of 11-year-old hijacking victim Zarah Ramsamy was used to buy alcohol.
The officer had been tasked with moving the family's car to a SAPS facility in September after the carjackers abandoned it.
His bail application was heard at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Investigating Officer Sivan Naidoo told the court that the number of bank cards found in a box at Makhaye's home has now grown from 105 to 272.
READ: Zarah Ramsamy bank card theft: Durban cop wants bail
The revised figure is more than double what had originally been presented.
The court heard that at least ten of the cards were linked to looting incidents at Bridge City Shopping Centre in KwaMashu in July 2021.
Naidoo said the Cato Manor-based police officer claimed during his arrest that he found the box of bank cards at a crime scene.
However, he could not explain why it was not handed to Cato Manor police.
Officer Naidoo told the court that when asked about how he came into possession of Mrs. Ramsamy's bank card, Makhaye responded that he took it while transporting her recovered hijacked vehicle back to Malvern SAPS.
ALSO READ: Zarah Ramsamy: Arrested constable ‘not linked’ to hijacking, murder
A forensic investigators report is expected by Friday.
It's expected to detail where the other cards came from.
The State is opposing bail.
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