A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the alleged theft of precious stones.
She handed herself over at the Edenvale Police Station. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate says that the suspect will make her first appearance before the Johannesburg Magistrate Court on Tuesday. To date, three suspects are arrested. Two appeared in court on Monday.
Their case has been postponed to 16 July 2026 for a formal bail hearing. The arrest of the remaining two suspects out of five is imminent.
Meanwhile, the two suspects that appeared in court today, have been identified as an Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department officer and a businessman.
Adrian Mackenzie and Etienne van der Walt were arrested over the weekend. They face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances and fraud.
The charges relate to an alleged fake police operation in Killarney on 11 February 2023.
According to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), the two were part of a six-member team involved in the raid. Investigators say the group included officers from the EMPD, JMPD and Gauteng Traffic Police. IPID alleges that the suspects assaulted Johannesburg businessman Pieter Prinsloo before stealing six boxes of sugilite and manganese stones.
The stones are valued at nearly R15 million.
Prosecutors say the suspects falsely claimed to be part of a multi-disciplinary police team investigating lithium smuggling. T
hey allegedly told Prinsloo they had authority to conduct law enforcement operations in Johannesburg. The State argues the accused had no such authority and intended to steal the stones from the outset.
The details of this crime came to light during a Madlanga Commission sitting. It also implicated suspended EMPD member Julius Mkhwanazi.
