Six Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department officers have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from a Congolese national. Photo: Screenshot
Image: Screenshot
Six officers from the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department's drug unit have been arrested for allegedly engaging in extortion against a Congolese national in Boksburg, Gauteng.
The arrests took place on Wednesday at their Kempton Park offices, with accusations of robbery and defeating the ends of justice surfacing against the officers, aged between 31 and 39 years.
According to Lizzy Suping, spokesperson for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), the incident unfolded on March 5, 2024.
The victim was reportedly stopped by the officers for an alleged traffic violation, during which they requested his identification documents to verify his residency status in South Africa. After this verification at the Home Affairs office in Boksburg, the situation escalated.
Suping said that the officers drove the victim to his home, located in one of Boksburg's estates.
"They searched the house without a search warrant and confiscated an amount of money found in the premises," she said.
The six officers are currently held at the Boksburg police station and are expected to face court proceedings soon.
In a similar case, seven police officers have been arrested after allegedly extorting money from two shops owned by Chinese nationals in Milnerton, Cape Town, in the Western Cape.
“It is alleged that the members, accompanied by a suspect in civilian clothes, took an undisclosed amount of cash from the two shops, allegedly as protection money.
“The incident was reported to police and members of the Anti-Corruption Unit and Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit detectives acted swiftly and apprehended the suspects last night in Milnerton while they were on duty. As the investigation unfolds, leads are pursued to identify more suspects who could also be arrested,” said police spokesperson, Colonel Andrè Traut.
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