Eastern Cape Extortion Hotline Misused, Police Receive 688 Prank Calls While Trying to Combat Crime
- The South African Police Service has received 688 prank calls since launching an extortion hotline in the Eastern Cape
- Extortion-related crimes have risen across the country, and police are committed to combatting the trend
- Police have enjoyed some success across the country, with some suspects related to extortion crimes shot dead
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues.
EASTERN CAPE - The South African Police Service (SAPS) is committed to curbing extortion crimes, but their job hasn’t been made easier by pranksters in one area of the country.
In the latest quarterly crime stats, extortion was noted to be on the rise, prompting police to take extra measures to combat it. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu promised the nation that extortionists would be dealt with, and SAPS have already made strides in doing this.
In the Eastern Cape province, police have introduced a hotline for reporting extortion cases, but sadly, citizens have abused it.
Police receive hundreds of prank calls
SAPS National Commissioner Fannie Masemola revealed that the Eastern Cape Extortion Hotline was launched two weeks ago and had already received 1 180 calls.
Sadly, 688 of those calls turned out to be pranks, while a further 431 were people phoning to verify that the number was indeed the police hotline.
Only 36 calls were actually related to legitimate extortion cases.
Despite South Africans' lack of seriousness, Masemola confirmed that police would follow up on all information received.
Police enjoy some success in SA
While SAPS may not be finding the most tremendous success in the Eastern Cape, they have made a statement in the other parts of the country.
Masemola detailed some of the cases where they showed no mercy to suspects.
In the past week, police have fatally shot numerous suspects related to extortion crimes in the country.
Police kill extortion suspect
In previous news, Briefly News reported that police officers are clamping down on extortion crimes and are showing no mercy to suspects involved in it.
Recently, officers shot dead one man and injured three others during a shootout. The incident happened in Mpumalanga after the suspects shot at officers, who then returned fire.
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Source: Briefly News
