Two men accused of demanding protection money from tuck shops and small businesses in Joe Slovo were killed and a third wounded in a shootout with police near Century City last week.

This comes close on the heels of a shootout in Bothasig, which left three suspected extortionists dead and another four injured, as well as the arrest of 10 police officers and two mall security guards accused of squeezing businesses in the Milnerton area for protection money.

In the latest incident, police say they followed the suspects after getting a tip-off just after 4pm on Tuesday October 15.

The men started shooting at the police when they realised they were being followed, and the officers returned fire, according to provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Malcom Pojie.

“Three firearms were seized from the vehicle after the shootout. Preliminary investigations indicate the vehicle the suspects were travelling in was hijacked in Thornton a few days ago. Investigations are under way to determine the identities of the deceased individuals,” he said.

The SAPS Provincial Organised Crime Unit was investigating cases of attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and possession of a hijacked vehicle, he said.

Extortion was rife in and around the Milnerton area, and the police would continue to work with communities, he said but added that only one anonymous report about extortion in the province had been made to the SAPS Western Cape extortion hotline for the year.

The hotline was introduced to gather information and gauge the magnitude of the problem of “extorting for protection fees” in the province, he said, urging the public to use it to help police stamp out the crime.

Businesses and residents in Joe Slovo and Phoenix have complained about protection-fee rackets.

A woman who once ran a hair salon in Phoenix, who fears being named, said that after being harassed for months by extortionists demanding protection money she closed her business earlier this year.

She said she was “still being watched” but had been applying for a job in the area.

“It was my dream to make others look good and be the owner of my own salon, but I had to give up on this dream because my life was in danger.”

On Wednesday September 25, three suspected extortionists were killed and four others were injured during a shootout with police in Bothasig (“Three dead, four injured in Bothasig police shootout,” Tabletalk, October 2), and, on Sunday October 6, seven police officers, aged 24 to 45 and all attached to the Public Order Policing Unit, were arrested for allegedly extorting money from shops in the Milnerton area (“Seven cops arrested for extortion in Milnerton,” Tabletalk, October 9). And three more police officers and two mall security guards were arrested on the same charges shortly afterwards (“Milnerton police not involved in extortion case,” Tabletalk, October 16).

Extortion cases can be reported to the Western Cape police, toll-free, at 0800 31 44 44.

#extortion

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