Johannesburg – The National Police Commissioner General Masemola on Thursday revealed that 14 extortionists were shot and killed during confrontations with police officers in various provinces.
Speaking at a media briefing General Fannie Masemola said: “The crime of extortion requires a specialised investigative capacity and that is why we have deployed specialist teams led by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, crime intelligence, and organised crime units to lead these investigations”.
Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape have the most reported cases of extortion.
General Masemola said the South African Police Service was working hard to bring an end to extortion-related crimes, “but, we are going to need the cooperation of our communities to report the crime and name and shame the perpetrators”.
He added: “We have developed an Extortion Action Plan and thus far, we are pleased with the manner in which this plan is being implemented throughout the country.
“From 1 April 2023 to 31 August 2024, 319 cases have been reported at our police stations.”
General Masemola said the arrests linked to these cases is 151.
While there was an upsurge in violent crimes that include car hijackings, cash-in-transit robberies, home invasions, kidnapping, and extortion, General Masemola said Operation Shanela, which was launched last year in May, was showing success.
“Since our last briefing four weeks ago, 85 000 more suspects have been arrested for various crimes ranging from murder to rape, kidnapping and extortion,” said General Masemola.
“This brings the total number of suspects arrested since the launch of Operation Shanela to 850 375.
“We do believe that we are registering progress in destabilising the work of organised crime syndicates as well as ruthless criminals in all forms and shape.”
In the last month police have seized 824 illegal and unlicensed guns.
General Mosemola added: “Just in these past two weeks, 14 extortionists were shot and killed during a confrontation with police in various provinces.
“In Gauteng in the past week, eight criminals were shot and killed during Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation-led operations.
“Six of them were cash-in-transit robbers who had just robbed a cash van of an undisclosed amount of money in Germiston. An AK47 and four pistols were found in their possession.”
General Masemola said from 1 April 2024 to 31 August 2024 at least 5 711 suspects were convicted of various crimes including rape and murder.
He said 531 life sentences were handed down to 347 accused of murder, rape, house and business robberies, car hijackings and other robberies with firearms.
