An officer of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) is due to appear in court for unauthorised use of a state vehicle and on suspicion of drug dealing, among other charges.

JMPD Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said yesterday the officer, 40, who has been in the service for 15 years, was arrested at his home in Diepkloof, Soweto, on December 20.

Supt Minnaar said he took the vehicle from JMPD premises at about 11pm and returned it at 5.30am several times after he was granted leave on December 15.

He said the officer was spotted by a colleague in Kensington on December 16 driving a state vehicle and in full uniform. He then tried to bribe his colleague not to report him to his superiors.

But JMPD director Sipho Dlepu found that the car was missing from its usual parking space and when the officer returned it the next day he had left it in the wrong place.

Its unaccounted mileage was 2 652km.

Minnaar said it is suspected that the officer had driven to drug hotspots and was dealing in drugs.

“We want to send a strong message that we are going to arrest corrupt officers, including those who abuse state vehicles,” he said.

The officer is out on R1 000 bail and will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on February 24. He will