This vuilgat former cop, who admitted to selling guns to gangsters on the Cape Flats, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Christiaan Prinsloo entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the state at the Bellville Regional Court yesterday.
The 55-year-old admitted to selling “thousands of guns” over eight years, which earned him over R1 million.
The former colonel was arrested in July last year and originally faced 28 charges.
Cops said he sold confiscated firearms, earmarked for destruction, to gangsters and other criminals in the Western Cape since 2007.
Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to 11 charges which range from racketeering and money laundering, to theft, corruption and fraud.
Prinsloo resigned from the police force last year after 35 years on the job.
According to the state, Prinsloo, who was in charge of the confiscated firearms stores in Vereeniging, entered into a corrupt relationship with his co-accused Alan Raves, 50, who was an inspector for the SA Heritage Resources Institute.
Raves is yet to plead for the charges against him and is expected in court on July 22.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Prinsloo stood calmly before Magistrate Theo Marx speaking only to confirm that he was pleading guilty as each charge was read out.
According to his plea deal, Prinsloo admits to selling over 2 400 guns, gun parts and ammunition, generating R1.22m.
Prinsloo says he and a colleague first discovered they were “sitting on a goldmine” in 2006 when they were supposed to destroy their first cache of weapons but decided to keep them.
His defence lawyer Advocate Grant Smith read: “He admits that in time he contacted two people, one from the Western Cape and accused number two, who were interested in dealing in illegal firearms, weaponry and ammunition.”
Smith said his client was remorseful about his actions and knew that he needed to be punished.
“He feels that he failed in his duty as a police officer by providing guns and ammunition to criminals,” he explained.
“Immediately after his arrest, he complied with the investigation and did not waste the state’s money on a trial by pleading guilty.
“He is married with two minor children.”
Magistrate Marx accepted the plea.
“You are now formally found guilty of all 11 charges and as per the agreement with the state, you are sentenced to an effective 18-year prison term,” he said.