SAPS Sergeant Arrested in Limpopo for Allegedly Defrauding State Through Stolen Fleet Cards
By Mpho Tumelo Modise | Editor-in-Chief, EZA News
A 54-year-old South African Police Service sergeant stationed in Lebowakgomo, Limpopo, has been arrested and charged with fraud and theft after allegedly orchestrating a scheme in which stolen state fleet cards were used to fuel private vehicles in collusion with petrol station attendants.
The arrest was carried out by the Limpopo Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit following an investigation that traces back to an incident on 11 April 2025, when a SAPS member attempted to refuel a state vehicle and found the transaction declined – the vehicle had not travelled the required distance since its previous fill-up. That anomaly triggered a wider investigation that uncovered a pattern of fraudulent fleet card usage.
According to SAPS, investigators established three separate allegedly fraudulent transactions. In one instance, a fleet card was used to purchase R1,300 in fuel at a time when the vehicle linked to the card was confirmed to be at a SAPS garage undergoing repairs. In another, R700 in fuel was purchased on a day when the associated vehicle was parked and not in operational use. A third transaction of R1,227.50 was flagged due to incorrect mileage records.
The alleged mechanics of the scheme are straightforward and, for that reason, particularly damaging to institutional credibility. According to police, the sergeant removed fleet cards from a SAPS office, transported them to a local filling station, and colluded with three petrol attendants who would dispense fuel into private customers’ vehicles in exchange for cash – the transaction then being processed through the stolen state card. The cash proceeds were allegedly split between the sergeant and the attendants.
The docket was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which authorised charges of fraud and theft. The sergeant has been served with a summons to appear before the Thabamoopo Magistrate’s Court on 24 August 2026. Investigations are continuing.
Acting Limpopo Police Commissioner Major-General Jan Scheepers stated that “corruption within the ranks will not be tolerated,” affirming the Anti-Corruption Unit’s role in the matter.
The case joins a growing body of evidence that South Africa’s state infrastructure corruption problem is not confined to senior political principals or large-scale tender fraud. It runs through the operational layer of government institutions – including, as this case demonstrates, the very institutions charged with policing it.
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