Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has revealed that there are currently 119 extortion cases being investigated in the Western Cape and when compared to other provinces, is the highest number of extortion cases in the country, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The Organised Crime Investigations capability, within the Detective and Forensic Services, has in total investigated 312 extortion cases all over South Africa since 1 April 2023, according to Mchunu.
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Mchunu has further stated that this does not mean that these are not all of the ongoing extortion cases, as ‘many do not report out of fear of retaliation from the groups’.
According to the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), the district hotspots in the Western Cape have been identified as the City of Cape Town District, the Cape Winelands District and the Overberg District.
With the number of arrests that have been made, Mchunu said that, for the same period in question, the total number of arrests made in relation to these extortion cases has been 69 arrests in the Western Cape, according to BusinessTech.
‘There have been no convictions in respect of any of these cases, to date, as they are currently on the court roll,’ said Mchunu.
Mchunu has maintained that ‘various strides’ have been made to combat the rising incidents of extortion and violence at construction, business and other sites not only in the Western Cape but also across South Africa.
This has included the establishment of an investigative capacity within the Organised Crime Investigations and Serious and Violent Crime Investigations Components of the Division: Detective and Forensic Services.
Mchunu has stated that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been ‘mobilising specialised resources’ to provinces where the threat of violence has exceeded local police capabilities.
The resources include deploying investigation teams and policing units to ‘stabilise the situation’ and support ongoing project-driven investigations.
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CapeTown ETC
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