An off-duty SAPS officer was arrested for shoplifting on Saturday, 31 January 2026, at a certain supermarket in Barberton.
According to the police, a security officer who was on duty at the main entrance of the supermarket received information from the store’s control room, indicating that a male customer had allegedly added extra bananas into a plastic bag after the item had already been weighed and priced at the pay point.
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The customer was approached and questioned. The bananas were re-weighed, and it was established that the weight exceeded the original weight reflected on the price label. The value of the difference amounted to R43.80.
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The police officer was then detained and the matter was reported to the police. “An investigation is ongoing and SAPS internal processes will also be instituted. The member will be subjected to the same legal processes as any other suspect. He is expected to appear at the Barberton Magistrate’s Court today, Monday, February, facing charges of shoplifting,” reads the police statement.
