National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola has announced the deployment of more officers to the Eastern Cape to clamp down on extortionists and gangs.
The deployment of additional boots on the ground comes off the back of a visit and community stakeholder engagements in Mthatha and Gqerberha, 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. The Eastern MEC for Community Safety Xolile Nqata and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Executive Mayor, Gary van Niekerk formed part of the two-day engagements.
The multidisciplinary teams have been deployed to prevent, combat, investigate, and arrest those behind incidents of gang violence and extortion.
Three senior officers consisting of the head of Organised Crime, Specialised Operations, and intelligence from SAPS national headquarters have been deployed to the province, each with dedicated teams under their command.
On the ground is a team of detectives from Organised Crime as well as Serious and Violent Crimes 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 province has been plagued by killings relating to extortion rackets run by gangs.
In Mthatha, a large number of businesses are closing down as owners are unable to cope with the demands from these extortionists.
General Masemola said communities cannot be held ransom and has urged residents to come forward and name the extortionists.
“The challenge that we are having is that community members are reluctant to report incidents of extortion. We urge our communities, when called upon, to 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 communities' cooperation in this regard. We have dedicated teams that are assigned to these cases. We are also looking at increasing capacity to register more cases and ensure take-downs,” Masemola said.
Police said it was making inroads in dealing decisively with gangs demanding extortion fees from businesses, but concedes more needs to be done.
National police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said in relation to sporadic incidents of violence and extortion at construction sites and businesses across the country, a number of arrests have been made.
“A total of 722 extortionists have been arrested in the last five years, of which 52 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, these include the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, the North West, and Mpumalanga.
“In the Western Cape, well-known construction mafia gang leader, Ralph Stanfield, his wife, Nicole Johnson, and 14 others are facing 32 charges relating to the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, in relation to extortion fees,” Mathe said.