SAPS senior management in the Eastern Cape launched a 24/7 Hotline in Mthatha on Friday, August 23.
According to a statement from SAPS, this followed recent media reports of an alleged wave of extortion incidents in various parts of the province, and with Mthatha being identified as a hotspot area. However, police records had fewer reported criminal cases.
“We encourage the public to make use of the hotline. If the public is reluctant to open criminal cases, they are enticing the crime to continue unabated. We have noticed that social media is full of allegations of extortion, commonly known as “protection fees”, but some of those alleged incidents did not reach us,” said the Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene, during the launch of the Eastern Cape SAPS Extortion Hotline number, which was held at Mthatha SAPS Academy. The Extortion Hotline number is 082 387 1561 and was officially declared open.
The cases of extortion are investigated by the Provincial Organised Crime Unit in the province, which has extensive knowledge and experience in forensic investigation.
Currently, there are 27 suspects behind bars, nabbed in 11 cases, and most of them are linked to more than one case of extortion.
SAPS is confident that the Extortion Hotline will assist in curbing the challenges of “protection fees”, especially if the public come forward to report such incidents.
The hotline is not an emergency line, nor does it replace other police communication lines. It must be noted that this line is specifically meant to report incidents of extortion in the Eastern Cape Province only. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
