Four men appeared in the Bredasdorp Magistrates’ Court after allegedly trying to extort “protection money” from shop owners.
The suspects, said the police, were arrested on Wednesday 1 May shortly after the business owners reported that four men had given them printed notes, allegedly stating that the shop owner should pay a protection fee before 18 May.
This note, said Overberg District Police spokesperson Sergeant Abigail Naidoo, also contained two cellphone numbers the shop owners could call “in case” they had any “problems”.
“The suspects reportedly went from shop to shop with the printed notes.
“After communicating via WhatsApp about what happened, the four shop owners went to the Bredasdorp Police Station to report the matter,” Naidoo stated.
The suspects, aged 45, 34, 32 and 37 respectively, were arrested and appeared in court on four charges of extortion. The case was postponed for further investigation.
