Three facing extortion and theft charges

THREE suspects will appear in the Caledon Magistrate’s Court today facing charges of extortion and theft following their arrest in Botrivier.

Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the suspects, aged between 29 and 50, were arrested after concerted efforts by police to deal with the crime of extortion (protection money) that is holding local communities across the Western Cape hostage.

Potelwa said: “Crime prevention operations conducted by police have begun to yield results. This follows the recent retrieval of a large sum of money and the arrest of three suspects in an operation in Botrivier in the Overberg last week.”

The suspects were arrested following the robbery and extortion of a local businessman in the Overberg region. According to a police report, the suspects extorted R300 000 from the businessman and robbed him of his cash, cellphones, two cars and bank cards.

“The assistance of officials from the local municipality and Neighbourhood Watch members with cutting-edge technology added much-needed value to the operation. Further investigations will determine if they are linked to other cases,” Potelwa said.

Meanwhile, Cape metro police arrested three men for possession of illegal firearms.

Police spokesperson André Traut said: “Our focus to significantly reduce the number of illegal firearms in the province led to the arrest of three suspects during separate police interventions in Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Bonteheuwel.”

In Gugulethu yesterday morning, police arrested a 26-year-old suspect who was allegedly found in possession of an unlicensed firearm.

According to the police, the suspect was apprehended when he attempted to rob a bread delivery truck.

In a separate incident, police arrested an armed suspect in Khayelitsha following a brief high-speed pursuit. The 36-year-old man was allegedly found in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

Meanwhile, in Table Bay, police arrested a 46-year-old man for allegedly dealing in drugs.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “A tracing operation by Table Bay Harbour detectives resulted in great success over the weekend when police followed up on information that led them to an address where they found 24 parcels of dagga, two plastic bags containing an unknown amount of dagga, three cellphones, two weighing scales and an undisclosed amount of cash.”

A 46-year-old suspect is expected to appear in court today.