A 40-year-old man arrested for extortion and impersonation is due to appear in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate's Court, east of Pretoria, on Friday, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said.
Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said Lazarus Mabotja from Soshanguve north of Pretoria, who used the alias Captain Ngobeni, was arrested after he allegedly attempted to extort R300,000 from a former mayor.
"During his arrest, he was found with a number of blank arrest warrants, search warrants, the Pretoria Regional Court date stamp, and a fake correspondence letter with a Hawks logo. He was also in full Hawks uniform.
"Mabotja's arrest brings to three the number of bogus Hawks officers thus far. Former SAPS Constable Rynno du Plessis, 30, was arrested at the beginning of June inside Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre and Gabriel Paul, 40, was also arrested in Johannesburg," Mulaudzi said.
Mabotja was formerly convicted of murder and robbery. He was released on parole.
- African News Agency (ANA)
