One of the oldest Boksburg family businesses, Rex Diff and Gearbox, has blown the whistle on a trio of extortionists who have been terrorising their business for over two years, resulting in disruptions that forced the company to let at least 40 staff go.
The 34-year-old company in Rietfontein Road, Boksburg North, was allegedly extorted by the three criminals since mid-2023 to the tune of some R340 000.
The company’s Salome Potgieter told Boksburg Advertiser the extortion syndicate, two men and a woman who claimed to belong to a ‘registered union’, threatened her late brother and the company’s founder, Rick Rex because he employed foreign nationals.
According to Potgieter, although all the foreign nationals (some from overseas) had legitimate papers and the company followed all the legal processes to employ them, the syndicate still threatened Rex’s life and that of his family, as well as causing untold disruption to the business should he fail to comply with their demands for money.
“In fear for his life and our lives, Rex succumbed to the implied violence and complied. They collected their extortion money up until Rick died in December.”
Potgieter explained that while they had thought of involving the police, Rex was reluctant to open a case because he feared this may result in violence or, in the worst-case scenario, murder.
“He feared for our lives. Even our staff were being threatened when walking down the street because they are working for us.”
Believing it was ‘business as usual’ in January, the syndicate expected to receive their extortion money.
However, since Rex had died and the company was under new management, the trio were told the company was not obliged to pay them and was battling financially due to all the losses made.
“They didn’t want to listen. They acted as if they were entitled to our money and started to threaten us, saying, ‘You will pay us or we are going to take matters into our own hands’.
“They had no mercy for us and even came to the business in Rietfontein Road to try their luck again, insisting that the company must give them R15 000. We put our foot down and told them no. However, they kept on intimidating us.
“We eventually opened a case with the Boksburg North Police, who later arrested two of the suspects.”
ARRESTED
The Boksburg North SAPS spokesperson, Constable Khakhathi Siphoro, confirmed that suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested on March 28 for extortion amounting to about R340 000.
The pair appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court where they were granted bail on March 4. They are facing extortion charges and the case will continue on May 15.
Siphoro said the investigation continues and more charges could be added against the pair. Their third accomplice is still at large.
Potgieter said in one of the latest demands on March 27, they demanded that the company pay them R5 000 each.
“My response was nope, there is no money. Stuff it! We are not going to do it! Enough is enough.
“We believe that we are not the only victims. There could be many businesses that are extorted by these guys. We encourage other businesses to come forward.
“Our main objective of coming out with the story is to create an awareness and help to put a stop to it as it’s bad for business and our economy. This has impacted our business badly. We had to let over 40 staff go because of them and that is heavy on my heart.
“These extortionists have not done any work for us. The money they collected from us could have gone back to the business to create more projects and job opportunities.
“There are a lot of families that depend on us. It’s not just us as the family, it’s our staff, suppliers and customers.
“I hope other companies will step forward with their stories.”
Come forward
Police believe that Rex Diff and Gearbox is not the only local business that was targeted by the trio. The police are calling on all victims of extortion to come forward. Contact the SAPS national extortion hotline (you can remain anonymous) on 0800 911 011.
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