Durban – The City of Cape Town's Safety and Security Investigation Unit (SSIU) is offering to help the police and the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) tackle extortion.
The offer comes after recent reports of extortion at both offices.
Just this week, the Cape Argus reported that work on the Central Line had been temporarily halted after a group of men accosted and chased contractors.
Bonteheuwel councillor Angus McKenzie said Prasa and the SAPS would put in place a detailed security plan after which work on the line would resume.
Meanwhile, kidnappings are on the rise as copycat syndicates pop up across the region. IOL reported that last week, 37-year-old Akter Pradhan was allegedly kidnapped by three unknown men. Mitchell’s Plain police are searching for Pradhan and tracing the suspects.
“The City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate is under increasing pressure to respond to complaints about extortion and kidnapping for ransom. The City has offered assistance through the Safety and Security Investigation Unit.
The public is in desperate need of protection against extortion syndicates operating from Long Street through to Khayelitsha," said the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.
He said the increasing prevalence of kidnapping cases is sowing panic in communities and there was a need to do more to assist.
As an immediate intervention to the growing extortion cases, Smith said, the City had contacted Prasa and the SAPS to offer assistance through the SSIU.
Highlighting the SSIU's recent successes, Smith said from 2021 to 2022, the unit recovered 30 hijacked vehicles. From 2016 to 2021 it achieved 2 920 convictions working with City enforcement agencies and the SAPS.
“The SSIU has also conducted watching briefs for more than 23 000 arrests made by City enforcement staff for the possession of drugs, driving while under the influence, and the possession of firearms and ammunition. The SSIU has also achieved a large number of meaningful convictions for drug, firearm, copper theft, robbery, extortion and even assisting with Interpol investigations leading to the capture of wanted persons,” Smith added.
He said globally, the state responded to complex and syndicated crime by establishing integrated task teams bringing together the skills and information of different agencies and spheres of government.
“In looking for a more integrated solution, I have also written to the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, to ask for his intervention in establishing separate fully-fledged extortion and kidnapping task teams between the SAPS, Western Cape government and CCT, wherein the City and provincial officials are engaged as full participants and are allowed to contribute to crime intelligence, arrests and operations as well as working with specialist prosecutors assigned by the NPA to the task team, to achieve convictions,” Smith said.
How to report crime, kidnappings and by-law offences:
Residents can report crime, including extortion, kidnapping and by-law offences anonymously, 24 hours a day, at 0800 110077.
All information is welcomed, but a reward can only be paid if the City's policing resources achieve an result that directly relates to information received, for example, an arrest, confiscation of contraband or illegal firearms, recovery of stolen goods, or the rescue of a kidnapped victim.
Tips received by the tip-off line are relayed to the relevant City agency. Once they have made an arrest or confiscation, for example, they will submit the application for consideration by the Rewards for Information Committee.
“We do have to caution the public that it could take several weeks or months after the arrest or confiscation is made for the reward to be paid out, once all relevant administrative processes have been completed. The system is not open to people under the age of 18 or City of Cape Town employees,” Smith warned.
IOL