Extortion victims often cry foul only when they are in too deep – Masemola

National police commissioner General Fanie Masemola says extortion victims must not wait until it is too late before reporting their situation.

The police boss was speaking at a media briefing in Parktown, Johannesburg, on Thursday on the successes of recent operations and crime issues across the country.

Do not pay potential extortionists

Extortion rackets and the construction mafia have received special attention from police in recent weeks.

Intelligence units have identified hotspots across the country, with 14 suspects having been killed by police in the last two weeks.

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In one incident, three suspects opened fire on officers at a police base in Mthatha, with the officers “asserting the authority of the state” in killing all three suspects.

In Cape Town, police confirmed a Zimbabwean foreign national was arrested for the murder of a 4-year-old girl caught in the crossfire when men where demanding protection fees from a shop owner.

Nationally, 319 extortion cases have been opened with police between April 2023 and August 2024, with the provincial hotbeds being the Western and Eastern Cape with 119 and 82 cases, respectively.

Masemola stated that 151 extortion-related arrests have been made. Of those, 69 were made in Western Cape, 24 in the Eastern Cape and 23 in Gauteng, where 63 cases had been opened.

Difficulties in compiling statements

Masemola explained the difficulty in filing charges against alleged extortionists because victims unwittingly engage in the crime themselves.

He said extortion victims begin meeting extortionists’ demands but when amounts escalate, “that is when they scream extortion”.

“When you open a case they always find it difficult, when they give a statement, to say when did they start. Otherwise, they involve themself in this extortion,” Masemola said at the briefing.

Difference in speed of police and courts

In the past four weeks, roughly 85 000 suspects had been arrested for a multitude of crimes.

Masemola was questioned about whether these arrests would show a tangible effect on crime, as many are released on bail.

ALSO READ: Crime in South Africa worse than official stats suggest

He said that those who qualified for bail should be released, and accepted that police and the courts operated differently.

“We don’t expect the court to process them at the same speed. Police work 24 hours but the courts work during the day,” he said in his response.  

Operation Shanela successes

Since launching in May 2023, Operation Shanela has registered 850 000 arrests, removing 824 illegal and unlicensed firearms from the streets.

Between April and August, 5 711 persons were convicted of various crimes, including life sentences for 347 convicted persons.

Accepting that crime was still prevalent, Masemola stated that the operations were yielding results and that police were not afraid to take the fight to criminals.

“We have not yet reached where we want to be but we are making inroads. We are going in the right direction,” he said.

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