Johannesburg - They crossed paths on social media platform, Instagram.
And shortly after getting acquainted, 17-year-old *John Smith from Cape Town and his new lady friend, Beslin, decided to exchange contact numbers to chat on WhatsApp.
Then, the conversation swiftly moved to an erotic chat, with Smith and Beslin sending each other a number of steamy text messages before sending explicit erotic pictures to one another.
Little did Smith know that his new lady friend wasn’t the person she portrayed herself to be.
The person posing to be ‘Beslin’, a 20-year-old active and sports-loving female studying at the University of Johannesburg, was actually a 23-year-old sextortonist, Rivalani “Bruce-Lee” Manganyi.
Shortly after sending a handful of sexually explicit pictures to ‘Beslin’, Smith was threatened with blackmail.
He was told that all his sexually explicit pictures would be leaked online and posted to all of his social media profiles if he didn’t pay a certain sum of money.
Threatened and scared, Smith immediately agreed to the demands, paying his perpetrator on more than one occasion.
But that wouldn’t be the end of his nightmare.
He would be regularly threatened by Manganyi, demanding that he pay more money. Otherwise, the sexually-explicit images would be leaked.
Not able to deal with the situation, Smith turned to the Stellenbosch Police in Cape Town for help.
His decision to get the police involved would result in the significant arrest of Manganyi, who was taken into custody two weeks ago.
Manganyi was arrested in an authorised entrapment operation on March 30, in Diepkloof, Soweto, by a multidisciplinary operation in conjunction with Stellenbosch Crime Investigation Department, Winelands Cluster Crime Intelligence Gathering operatives, and Royal Investigations.
The arrest is significant and rare, as not many face-less crimes are successfully investigated, identified, and arrested.
Manganyi was charged and transported to Stellenbosch, where he made his first court appearance last week and now remains in custody.
Royal Investigations, who played an integral part in the arrest of Manganyi, said their intelligence had led them to Diepkloof.
“We continued our investigation and conducted physical surveillance to obtain the necessary evidence, which was later the pivotal point to initiate an authorised entrapment and take-down,” said lead investigator at Royal Investigations, John Alexander.
“We cannot provide specifics relating to techniques used to identify the suspect. However, we do have the means to track down suspects who would otherwise work under the radar undetected.”
Alexander described the arrest as “significant”.
“These types of arrests are unheard of. Usually, sextortion is not registered with SAPS due to little to no confidence in the police, and when they are, it would usually be closed due to ‘suspect undetected’.
“We’ve been at the forefront of numerous sextortion investigations and managed to trace one suspect to Giyani, Limpopo, in October 2021, who was also arrested by our team and Giyani SAPS.
“The suspects are brazen and very difficult to trace if you do not have the dedication to follow every lead.”
Alexander, however, couldn’t comment on whether Manganyi has been linked to other sextortion cases.
“This investigation is still ongoing, and we would not want to jeopardise the hard work and dedication shown by the Stellenbosch Detectives and CIG.”
Speaking about the case, Alexander said Manganyi used the same modus operandi that many sextortonists use when trying to con individuals.
“These types of cases have the same hallmark. Criminals use Instagram and Tinder to find their prey. The victim received a message from an individual claiming to be ‘’Beslin”.
“After speaking on Instagram, she asked him for his WhatsApp number and almost immediately started a sexual discussion and sent him a few explicit pictures of ‘’herself’’. She convinced him to send some too....and boom….the extortion started.”
Over a period of a month, Alexander said Smith paid over around R15 000 to Manganyi.
“Mr Manganyi, just like the two others we successfully investigated, all have one common denominator: they are all from Giyani (Limpopo). We received intelligence that young individuals are groomed and taught how to conduct these types of extortion.
“They share the exact same modus operandi which is indistinguishable, they conduct their background on victims, they are relentless and usually very clever and work from the same script.”
Alexander also confirmed that no explicit images of Smith were released online.
“They wouldn’t release their leverage. However, they cannot be trusted.”
He said Smith would have gone through a horrible experience with his perpetrator.
“The victims, in general, slip into some sort of depression. Not only is there a financial loss, but there’s also full-on harassment on a daily basis. He was threatened daily and constantly on edge when he received a message.”
Smith’s ordeal isn't unique, however. Sextortion is fast becoming rife in South Africa, said Alexander.
“We are getting inquiries on a weekly basis. It’s lucrative, and not many get caught and prosecuted. We want the state to make an example of this suspect. Extortion is a serious crime which could land you in jail for 15 years maximum.”
Alexander has advised individuals to never send any compromising images to avoid being extorted.
“Don’t share compromising images, not to mention minors who are under 18 years of age are opening themselves up for possible child pornography charges. Those who are looking for companionship on social media should initiate an immediate video call to ensure the person is who he/she says they are.”
Meanwhile, Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Frederick Van Wyk confirmed the arrest of Manganyi.
“A case of extortion was opened, and the suspect appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrate court on April 4,” said Van Wyk.
Dawie Naude, a senior forensic investigator from Sleuth Detectives: South Africa's Investigative Specialists in Johannesburg, said that he too witnessed a spike in this kind of crime in recent years.
“Over the past six to eight years, since the internet and social media platforms have grown, we are witnessing a rapid increase in sextortion and online fraud in general,” he said.
“The internet is a popular place for fraudsters and scamsters who are able to hide, and many of them even advertise goods that they don't have just to get money.”
He said this even includes pets and dogs and that some even go as far as meeting their victims, just to rob them of their money and other possessions.
Naude warned people to exercise extra caution when they come into contact with people on the internet that they don’t know, particularly those looking for love on social media and online dating sites.
“Lovers often get scammed on social media and in pure ignorance, some willingly exchange private information and images of themselves which could be used to ruin their lives.”
Naude said that while these transactions are consensual, the other person could easily have bad intentions and threaten to release an individual’s personal material online for all their loved ones and colleagues to see.
The senior forensic investigator also said that sextortion is difficult to police and solve as suspects could be anywhere in the country and even the world.
“Many cases are closed because the police are unable to get enough evidence.”
He added that in many cases, the police are not always of help to sextortion victims because they say that this type of crime is self-inflicted and that they willingly sent the perpetrator the sexually explicit images.
“People should be very wary when they are online because it is so easy to become a victim,” Naude said.
*Not his real name