Police minister reveals which provinces in SA have the most extortion cases

The Western Cape has the highest number of extortion cases that have been investigated by the South African Police Service (Saps).

This is according to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

Responding to a parliamentary question from Rise Mzansi Member of Parliament Makashule Gana, Mchunu provided details about extortion syndicates targeting small businesses across the country.

Extortion cases opened

According to the reply, the Saps Organised Crime Investigations unit, part of the Detective and Forensic Services division, has investigated more than 300 extortion cases since 1 April 2023.

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The Western Cape had the highest number of cases, with 119 reported, followed by the Eastern Cape with 71.

The other provinces reported the following numbers:

• Gauteng: 47
• KwaZulu-Natal (KZN): 46
• North West: 18
• Limpopo: 7
• Mpumalanga: 3
• Free State: 1

The Northern Cape is the only province with no open extortion cases currently under investigation.

Extortion arrests

In terms of arrests, police have apprehended 251 suspects in connection with extortion crimes during the same period.

Once again, the Western Cape recorded the highest number of arrests, with 69 suspects taken into custody, followed by Gauteng with 59 arrests.

North West ranked third with 35 arrests, while KZN and the Eastern Cape recorded 34 and 27 arrests, respectively.

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In Limpopo, 18 suspects were arrested, and Mpumalanga reported nine arrests.

No arrests have been made in the Free State or Northern Cape.

Mchunu further indicated that there have been no convictions in respect of any of these cases, to date, as they were currently on the court roll.

Police investigative capacity

When asked if a specialised unit had been established to handle extortion cases, Mchunu said existing police units already possess the investigative capacity to address extortion and violence at construction and business sites.

“The Saps has and will continue to escalate the mobilisation of specialised resources to those provinces, where the nature and extent of the threat becomes difficult for the provincial Saps capacity to address.

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“This mobilisation includes a specialised investigation capacity and specialised visible policing units, with the intention to stabilise the incidents of violence that are associated with the threat and add impetus to the project-driven investigations,” he said.

He also highlighted the recent increase in resources to the Eastern Cape province, particularly in Mthatha and Gqeberha.

In August, the minister revealed that investigations into extortion incidents in Eastern Cape were close to being finalised.

Extortion suspects shot dead

Most recently, three suspects were killed during a shootout with the police that followed a high-speed chase in Bothasig, Cape Town.

According to the Western Cape police, seven suspects were fleeing in a minibus taxi after demanding protection money from business owners in Dunoon on 25 September.

The police confiscated an assault rifle, a 9mm pistol, an undisclosed amount of cash, and the minibus taxi involved in the incident.

The four other suspects were treated for gunshot wounds and placed under police guard.

The incident follows a similar incident in Milnerton last month, where four suspected extortionists were shot dead and four others were injured.

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