The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, has deployed extra capacity to the Eastern Cape province to clamp down on extortionists and gangs.
According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, multidisciplinary teams have been deployed to prevent, combat, investigate, and arrest those behind incidents of gang violence and extortion.
She said that the deployment of additional boots on the ground comes off the back of a visit and community stakeholder engagements in Mthatha and Gqeberha led by the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, the Deputy Ministers of Police, Cassel Mathale and Polly Boshielo, as well as SAPS Management led by the National Commissioner of the SAPS.
“The MEC for Community Safety in the Province, Xolile Nqata, and the Nelson Mandela Bay metro Executive Mayor, Gary Van Niekerk, also formed part of the two-day engagement. Three senior officers consisting of the head of organized crime, specialized operations, and intelligence from SAPS National Headquarters have been deployed to the province, each with dedicated teams under their command,” said Mathe.
She added that on the ground is a team of detectives from organized crime as well as the serious and violent crime unit, operatives from the National Intervention Unit (NIU), as well as Crime Intelligence Officers who will work alongside and augment the province’s existing capacity in dealing decisively with protection fee gangs.
“The SAPS is making inroads in dealing decisively with gangs demanding extortion fees from businesses but concedes that more needs to be done. In relation to sporadic incidents of violence and extortion at construction sites and businesses across the country, 722 extortionists have been arrested in the last five years. Fifty-two of them were found guilty and collectively sentenced to 89 years and seven months imprisonment. Ninety-three cases are still under investigation where groupings and individuals of interest have been identified. Problematic provinces have been identified where these extortionists operate, including the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Northwest, and Mpumalanga.”
She added that in the Western Cape, well-known construction Mafia gang leader Ralph Stanfield, his wife, and fourteen others are facing 32 charges relating to the Prevention of Organized Crime Act, in relation to extortion fees.National Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola, said that the challenge they are having is that community members are reluctant to report incidents of extortion.
“We urge our communities to, when called upon, come forward and report all forms of criminality to us and who these people are, to enable us to effect more arrests and ensure we build watertight cases that will be able to stand in court. For us to pin down these extortionists, we need witnesses. We urge the community’s cooperation in this regard,” said Masemola.
He added that they had dedicated teams assigned to these cases and are also looking at increasing capacity to register more cases and ensure takedowns.
