Two law enforcement officers attached to the City of Cape Town were arrested on Tuesday morning on charges of extortion and bribery and are expected to appear in the Cape Town Regional Court tomorrow. 

The Hawks confirmed their arrests earlier today.

The repeat extortionists, aged 36 and 41, are attached to the Metal Theft Unit but now face suspension, according to City of Cape Town’s law enforcement spokesperson, Wayne Dyason. 

“(We) can confirm the arrest of two law enforcement officers on charges of extortion. The two officers stationed at the Metal Theft Unit were arrested as part of an investigation by our Safety and Security Information Management Service (SSIMS) unit, in collaboration with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).

“It is understood that during the incidents, which date back to January 2025, the officers had allegedly extorted money from spaza shop owners. Warrants were subsequently issued for their arrests,” said Dyason.

Dyason said the Safety and Security Directorate is “committed to rooting out corrupt and criminal elements that have infiltrated our enforcement services”. 

“This matter is also being dealt with in terms of city policies and processes, and we can confirm they will be suspended as the disciplinary process is under way.” 

Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said the officers will face charges of corruption, extortion, and business robbery in court on Wednesday.

“The duo was arrested after incidents that took place from January 31, 2025, until the date they were arrested on a warrant.

“It is believed that the officers were targeting foreign nationals in spaza shops requesting their asylum documentation. With or without the documents, the officers will still demand money. 

“On different occasions, the victims paid an amount of R5,000 and R6,000. Further, the investigation revealed that during an arrest of one of the victims, the suspects managed to steal cigarettes out of the victim’s vehicle to the value of over R600,000 while the victim was being processed at Philippi East police station,” said Hani. 

According to Hani, the two suspects were previously arrested in May 2025 on similar charges and were subsequently released on bail.

chevon.booysen@inl.co.za

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