Beacon Bay extortion racket breakthrough

Police sting operation nets suspect after terrified homeowners told to pay up to ward off danger

A 48-year-old man was arrested in a sting operation early on Wednesday after allegedly trying to extort more than R600,000 from terrified Beacon Bay residents.

On Wednesday last week, panic spread among 30 homeowners who woke up to find stapled envelopes wrapped in danger tape in their driveways.

Inside each was a rock and a printed letter demanding R22,000 in order to avoid “danger”.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli confirmed a suspect was arrested at 4am on Wednesday.

“Police pounced … in Beacon Bay, where a man was questioned and later arrested on a charge of extortion.

“He is due to appear in the East London magistrate’s court tomorrow [Thursday] on charges of extortion.”

The letter demanded that R22,000 be dropped off at a certain time and placed inside a demarcated bin behind an electrical transformer on the corner of the suburb’s Clearview Crescent and Lagoon View Drive in eight days.

The letter read: “CONFIDENTIAL, You must NOT disclose, distribute or duplicate any content.

“You and your family are in danger and immediate action is required.

“You WILL PAY a once-off amount of R22,000 cash within 8 days of receiving this instruction. Payment is required to ‘CLEAR’ you and your family from being ‘HARMED IN ANY WAY’.

“It will be absolutely necessary to carry out this instruction SUCCESSFULLY. Write on the back of this page CLEARED and your street address.

“This instruction with the cash amount must be delivered to the location and placed in the bin behind the transformer thereafter you and your family WILL BE REMOVED FROM BEING IN DANGER AND HARMED IN ANY WAY.

“Never report this to anyone else or you and your family will have negative consequences!!! This is serious!!”

A crime investigator, who asked to remain anonymous, said that residents were warned not to spread the news of the police operation on social media for fear of tipping off the alleged extortionist.

She said: “Nothing discussed on groups in case somebody might be checking up. SAPS got on to it straight away.

“Early on Wednesday, the guy rocked up. He parked his white vehicle further down the road but then went to open the bin, which was wrapped in the same danger tape.

“He was caught. But there may be more people involved there was an abandoned vehicle with nobody in the car whose driver may have fled.”

She said based on security footage, the suspect apparently dropped off the threatening letters between 1am and 5am on Wednesday a week ago, with another suspect driving a white vehicle.

“This is the weirdest thing

I’ve never seen this happen before.

“Residents were really afraid, they didn’t want to go to the police, and some wanted to pay the cash.”

A Beacon Bay family, who asked to remain anonymous, found their letter in the early hours of the morning.

The husband, who was away at the time, said his wife was in a panic and phoned their security company to investigate.

“This guy must’ve thrown the letter over the gate.

“My wife was completely shocked,” he said.

“She walked out to our driveway and found the ziplock envelope wrapped in danger tape.”

His wife said she was relieved to discover this was not an individual attack on herself or her family.

“My husband was away so I sighed with relief knowing it wasn t a personal attack and it ’was just someone taking a chance,” she said.

“But before finding that out I wasn’t the only one who was frightened.

“I was shaking, I packed my dogs into the car and left for my mother-in-law’s house.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. No one’s letters had personal names or information in them but they did have different time slots to drop off the money.

“He only targeted homes with high walls, gates and no CCTV cameras.”

The woman said it had never crossed her mind to pay.

“We thought it could’ve been a teenager watching too much Netflix and crime channels trying his luck.

“Clearly, this guy had money to pay for printing.

“People who received these letters should go and open a case with the police because the more cases opened against him the longer he stays in jail.”