[imagesource: Facebook/South African Police Service]

The Anti-Corruption Unit has arrested a group of cops accused of extorting two shop owners at China Town in Milnerton.

On Monday evening, the eighth police officer was arrested in Harare for this alleged extortion, Smile FM reports. The additional suspect is part of the unit for public order policing, just like the seven other police officers arrested a day prior.

The allegations centre around two shops owned by Chinese nationals, from which the officers, along with a civilian suspect, reportedly extorted an undisclosed sum of money, allegedly demanding it as “protection money”. IOL reports a sum of just under R30,000 in total.

According to their source, the officers showed up “so brazenly” in full uniform and used marked SAPS vehicles during the incident.

“These guys are all from Pops but they went to China Town in Milnerton where they extorted Chinese shop owners. Some of these guys are illegally in the country so they threaten them as police officers with arrests and then get the guys to give them money.

“At the first shop they got R18000 and at the second they got R10000.

The SAPS Anti-Corruption Unit and provincial detectives made the first arrest on Sunday evening. These officers were on duty at the time.

“Members of Provincial Detectives also took three civilians, one male who is a former police officer and two females in for questioning relating to the same incident,” says Colonel André Traut, SAPS Western Cape spokesperson.

Traut says the suspects are expected to appear before the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. They face charges of extortion, business robbery, and corruption.

The Western Cape Provincial Commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, condemned the involvement of these officers in the alleged crime, stressing that such behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated within the SAPS.

“Offenders have no place in the SAPS and will be dealt with in accordance with the SAPS disciplinary regulations.”

The provincial MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Anroux Marais, says she takes “a dim view of growing indications of brazen police complicity in crime”.

This case of bad cops follows the four Cape Town officers who were arrested for an alleged R20 million jewellery heist in Llandudno.

[sources:smilefm&iol]