Another two charges have been added to the case against three men accused of being part of the ‘Grindr Gang’ which allegedly kidnaps users of the dating app and extorts money from them, the Cape Town Magistrate's Court heard yesterday.

Prosecutor Luzaan Williams and the investigating team have been steadily building their case since the arrests of Mlungisi Mbutu, Bongani Zulu and Zwelakhe Ngwenya over the Youth Day weekend, reports News24.

Police made their breakthrough in the Cape Town cases when they received a tip-off regarding a victim being held hostage until money was paid over.

The accused have not pleaded to the charges yet.

As more victims are coming forward with their experiences, Magistrate Alida Theart agreed with the state's request that no photos be taken yet because witnesses still need to verify their identities.

It is not yet clear whether they used their own photos on the mobile app.

The state did not reveal much about the new cases, but it did say one of them was in Claremont, Cape Town, and would fall under the jurisdiction of the Wynberg Magistrate's Court.

At a much later date a final jurisdiction will be decided on.

The gang the state is investigating allegedly lured users of Grindr to a meeting, before holding them hostage and demanding either they or a friend or relative pay a ransom, or face harm.

The state is linking them to cases with a similar modus operandi in Gauteng and KZN.

The case was postponed to 19 July, when an isiZulu interpreter returns. A date for their bail application might be set then.

Grindr, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, describes itself as the largest social networking app for gay people, with 13m users worldwide.

Full News24 report