A Kraaifontein cop has been busted for allegedly running an extortion racket targeting spaza shop owners.
The 55-year-old captain was arrested at work in front of his colleagues by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) on Wednesday after a spaza shop owner piemped him.
According to a Daily Voice source, the captain who works as the Sector Commander covering Wallacedene, demanded over R20 000 from shop owners in the area and allegedly threatened his victims after he learnt about the criminal charges against him.
The source reveals: “This ou is the sector commander, he mos basically runs the area. The whole story started in July this year when he forced one of the foreign nationals to pay him R20 000 to open a shop. The foreign nationals are often bang of the police so they do as they [the cops] say. He told them they needed his permission to operate and so they paid R20 000 to him in cash.”
The source says three months later the Captain returned to the same winkel and extorted the owner again.
“He got uitgevriet and while he was on leave in October, he returned to the same shop and demanded money and took amounts of R200 and R500. But the owners got gatvol and went to the police to open cases of extortion against him.
“A case was registered at Kraaifontein SAPS and earlier in November, he allegedly went to the victim and threatened him to get him to withdraw the charges. But the spaza shop owner reported the incident to police and another case was opened against him.”
Shortly before 9am on Wednesday, the ACU arrived at Kraaifontein Police Station with a warrant of arrest and took the captain into custody while his colleagues looked on.
Police spokesperson, Lt-Col. Malcolm Pojie, confirms the arrest and says: “Preliminary investigation suggests that the officer received a substantial payment during July 2023 from the owner of a spaza shop in the area in exchange to operate his business without interference.
“It is further alleged that the officer again visited the owner during the month of October 2023, demanding numerous payments of which the owner paid a certain amount to him in order to keep his business open for operations.”
Pojie says the matter was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions who made a decision to charge the cop with extortion and intimidation.
The officer is currently in detention and appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
His arrest comes just days after Constable Cheslyn Heckrath, 26, appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court for allegedly extorting a UWC student to pay R1000 via eWallet, in order to help him escape from police custody at Belhar police station.
The student was earlier arrested on a charge of fraud.