Cape Town - Extortion gangs in Cape Town are expanding and foreign nationals have joined this type of crime.
Last week members attached to the Extortion Team arrested two foreigners for extortion and recovered R3 500.
The team received information that two men were demanding a protection fee from a foreign business lady, who owned a shop in Grabouw and two others in Strand police precincts respectively.
The suspects were demanding a monthly payment of R7 000. Both suspects live in Bellville.
An operation was conducted resulting in the arrest of the two foreign nationals aged 34 and 38 respectively.
They appeared in the Grabouw Magistrate’s Court on Monday, on the mentioned charges.
The police and the City of Cape Town have had to launch hotlines for the public to report extortion.
The police sources said the extortion among foreign nationals was not something uncommon but it was not major.
“There were cases in Bellville where many foreign nationals have businesses,” said the officer.
“It is a small pool of foreign nationals and has not grown that much compared to the local guys that have operations from Khayelitsha to some Overberg towns.”
The Weekend Argus has established that foreign nationals involved in extortion target other foreign nationals while locals target almost every business including foreign owned.
Cape Town has been battling extortion gangs that have resulted in multiple shootings of business people and gangsters.
It is now well known that for a business to be not targeted for robberies, the owner has to pay a certain fee every month.
Government projects and other businesses like long distances bus company InterCape have not been spared from this crime.
Recently, Eskom had to withdraw services from Harare, Khayelitsha after their workers were demanded R20 000 in order for them to continue working in the area.
This left residents in the dark.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said during regular SAPS analysis of crime, it becomes apparent that crime, including extortion, knows no race, nationality, gender or age.
“However while some patterns may lean towards specific groupings in relation to some crime categories, there is no conclusive evidence suggesting that foreign nationals are heavily involved in extortion.”
“In relation to extortion cases, the SAPS has over time arrested scores of suspects, some from South Africa while others are of foreign origin.
“A case in point is the recent arrest and court appearance of two Ethiopians for extorting money from a Somali businesswoman.
“You would also recall that a significant number of local suspects are in custody for extortion-related offences.
“Their cases are running in various courts.”
She added that implying that only foreign nationals are heavily involved in the crime of extortion would be misleading.
“It is also worth noting that when SAPS detectives embark on investigations, they do not target specific nationalities but pursue leads irrespective of where the suspects come from.
“Lastly, while some foreign nationals are involved in the crime of extortion, it would be without basis to pronounce that foreign gangs are involved in extortion.”