A total of 49 cellphones from South African police officers have been confiscated after the gadgets were used to take pictures of famed Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, the country’s minister of police said in a written response to a question in parliament.

The police arrested Pistorius for the death and shooting of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Police minister Nathi Mthethwa said that 49 cellphones were confiscated from police officers based at a station in Boschkop in Pretoria after they were used to take photographs of Pistorius when he was being transferred between court and the station soon after his arrest.

Mthethwa wrote in a reply to a question by South Africa’s opposition party, The Democratic Alliance that, "This action was necessary after it came to light that photos were taken of a high profile individual who had been arrested."

The minister also said that four official cellphones and 45 private phones were taken from officers’ possession on Feb. 20, six days after Pistorius’ was arrested. The confiscated phones could be used as evidence in possible disciplinary proceedings against the police officers, according to Mthethwa. He did not reveal how many officers had taken photos of Pistorius or how many – if any – are facing disciplinary action.

The former lead police investigator in the case told The Associated Press that he had fears that reporters were trying to purchase images of key pieces of evidence from officers during the first few days after the shooting. One of this includes the toilet door through which Pistorius fired the shots that killed Steenkamp inside the athlete’s home in the predawn hours

The door was taken from inside the bathroom in Pistorius’ house and placed in a “body bag” and was then moved to a senior policeman’s office, according to former detective Hilton Botha.

Pistorius was initially held at Boschkop, a station near his home in suburban Pretoria, after he was arrested last February 14 following the killing of Steenkamp at his residence. The Olympian was later transferred to another police station for his bail hearing at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

The country’s ministry of police declined to provide further details on the cellphone images and the possible disciplinary actions against the police officers. However, the sensational Pistorius case has already cast doubts on the professionalism of South Africa’s force.

Botha, who was the lead investigator in the case, provided shaky evidence in court during Pistorius’ bail hearings and it was later revealed that Botha himself was facing seven charges of attempted murder. He was removed from the case and later resigned from the South African police.

Botha told the Associated Press that when he was still working on the case, he had arranged for the toilet door to be taken from Pistorius’ house and moved to Boschkop station after another officer told him she had been offered a financial reward to provide images of the door to the media.

The former lead investigator claims that there have been numerous offers to members of the police to provide images of evidence to reporters. And that offers are coming from both domestic and international companies, with one media company offering up to $50,000 for a photograph of the toilet door.