Members of the National Cold Case Investigation Team arrested two men who were allegedly demanding money while threatening a building contractor in a suburb outside Port Elizabeth. Luvuyo Chippa Baadjies (39) and Simphiwe Bans Waka (45) were allegedly demanding R100 000 from a developer who was building a satellite police station in Chatty, Bethelsdorp, just outside Port Elizabeth.
This matter was brought to the attention of the National Cold Case Investigation Team on 15 January 2020. The developer was allegedly forced to pay the money or the construction of the police station was going to be halted. The suspects claimed to be representing a "community business interest". It later emerged that they were demanding the money for themselves.
The service provider was also allegedly threatened not to tell any other members of the community about the demand. A sting operation was conducted on 20 January 2020 at 15:30. The two suspects were arrested at the Port Elizabeth Airport where they met with the developer to collect the money.
Both suspects have since been charged with extortion, corruption and fraud. They appeared in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court today, 21 January 2020 and were remanded in custody until 28 January 2020 to allow for further investigations in this case as well as into their involvement in other similar cases.
The National Commissioner has welcomed the arrest of the suspects. "We certainly cannot allow criminals to impede growth and development in this country,” said General Khehla John Sitole. "Should such a problem not be dealt with decisively, it may have the potential to impact negatively on the Grand Economic Strategy of the country,” added General Sitole.
In the meantime further arrests in this case cannot be ruled out.
We are appealing to anyone who may be experiencing a similar problem to contact the SAPS Crime Stop number on 086 00 10111 or tip-offs may be communicated via the MySAPSApp. Informers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated with strictest confidence.
Enquiries:
Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo
Cell: 082 567 4153
