“There is more blackmail involved than meets the eye”

JOHANNESBURG – Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said extortionists were targeting not only businesses but also pensioners and Road Accident Fund (RAF) recipients.

He assured that the police are taking aggressive action against syndicates and gangs responsible for extortion in provinces such as Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.

Mchunu was responding in the National Assembly to the police's actions in dealing with the threats posed by extortionists in the country.

Mchunu said extortion had increased over time and had now reached a level that affected all communities across the country.

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He said that in some provinces it was not just the construction mafia and the companies that were targeted, but that the extortionists had targeted every area of ​​life.

“In the Free State, pensioners and people who receive RAF benefits are the target of blackmailers. In general, there is more blackmail involved than one would initially suspect. This requires more criminal investigation work,” said Mchunu.

But opposition MPs said not enough was being done.

“There is no comprehensive crime prevention strategy and until there is one, we will always be chasing the facts,” said Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, MP for the Economic Freedom Fighters.

Mchunu said there was an operational plan involving community policing forums and private security companies, and the Eastern Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay provinces had already agreed to the plan.