Two members attached to the VIP Protection Unit for SAPS in the Northern Cape were sentenced in the Upington Regional Court on Monday, for theft.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe says a decade ago 48-year-old Micheal Sibiya and 46-year-old Tebogo Noe were on duty in the Upington area when they went on an outing to a mall.
He says at the mall the duo stumbled upon R60 000 in cash and instead of locating the owner they bought flashlights and hid the rest of the money inside a box.
Thebe says they attempted to send their newfound loot to their home address in Kimberley through a local courier, who became suspicious and opened the package.
He says the Hawks were contacted and the members arrested.
In 2016, after a lengthy trial, the officers were found guilty but after numerous delaying tactics they were finally sentenced yesterday.
The court fined them R30 000 each, to be paid in monthly instalments or alternative three years in prison, suspended for five years.
They were also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
