7 Police Officers Arrested for Extortion, Suspects Demanded R100,000 From Durban Businessman

• The Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal arrested seven police officers and one civilian for extortion-related crimes
• The officers 'arrested' a Durban business and then demanded R100,000 from his wife for his release
• South Africans want tougher action taken against the 'rotten apples' within the police force

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues.

KWAZULU-NATAL – Seven police officers and one civilian will appear in court after they were arrested for extortion-related crimes.

Three of the officers were arrested initially with a civilian on Sunday, 8 August 2024, by the DPCI’s Serious Corruption Investigation unit.

The KZN Hawks then arrested another four.

Officers attempted to extort money

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The officers were arrested for allegedly extorting money from a shop owner in Phoenix, Durban.

The gang first purchased cigarettes at the store, then returned later and informed him that the cigarettes were counterfeit. He was arrested and the cigarettes were confiscated.

Officers then allegedly demanded R100,000 from his spouse for him and the products to be released.

Mzansi wants corrupt cops punished

With police clamping down on extortion-related crimes in the country, South Africans want sterner action taken against officers who also engaged in these crimes.

@TheDBK84 described the officers as rotten apples:

“Rotten apples! May the law deal with them harshly.”

@EmmjayDblessed added that these officers are ruining the police’s reputation:

“Rogue officers. These are part of the ones destroying the reputation of South African Police. I hope they will not get bail at all.”

@Mhlontlo10 compared police to the ANC:

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“Police are just like ANC government officials - corrupt to the core.”

@Oletta15148998 touched on how hard it was to tackle crime with officers like this:

“No wonder it's such a mammoth task to fight crime in South Africa. Part of the rot is embedded deep in the stables of men in blue."

@ShembeZwilakhe described it as heartbreaking when public servants were involved:

“It's good news, to have the corrupt apples facing the music. It's bad enough that RSA has a high crime rate, but it is heartbreaking to have corrupt public servants.”

SAPS members sentenced for accepting bribes

Briefly News previously reported on three police officers who were jailed for participating in corrupt activities.

The officers were arrested after a motorist reported that they asked for a bribe to keep quiet about a crime.

The trio stopped the motorist and found suspected drugs in his vehicle but asked him for money to look the other way.

Source: Briefly News