National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has deployed extra capacity to the Eastern Cape to clamp down on construction mafias and gangs, reports News24.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed – as reported yesterday – the province was one of the areas most affected by extortionists who force people to pay them protection fees.

She said multidisciplinary teams had been deployed to prevent, combat, investigate and arrest those behind incidents of gang violence and extortion.

‘Three senior officers consisting of the heads of organised crime, operations, and intelligence from SAPS national headquarters have been deployed to the province, each with dedicated teams under their command,’ said Mathe.

Mathe said that on the ground there would be a team of detectives from Organised Crime and the Serious and Violent Crime Unit, operatives from the National Intervention Unit, as well as Crime Intelligence officers. 

These officers would work alongside the province's existing capacity to deal decisively with ‘protection-fee gangs’.

Mathe said 722 extortionists had been arrested in the last five years.

‘Fifty-two of them were found guilty and collectively sentenced to 89 years and seven months' imprisonment. Ninty-three cases are still under investigation where groupings and individuals of interest have been identified,’ said Mathe.

She added problematic provinces have been identified where these extortionists operate.

These include the Western, Eastern, and Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, North West, and Mpumalanga.

Full News24 report