JOHANNESBURG - Extortion crime has surged dramatically in the country, despite the latest statistics only reflecting thirty cases across the country in the first quarter.
South Africans are still not coming forward out of fear and intimidation.
READ: Crime in SA | Efficacy of extortion hotline questioned
Victims of extortion include ordinary South Africans and in the Western Cape social workers have also been targeted.
Reports of threats and demands for protection fees from criminal syndicates, highlight a troubling trend that requires urgent attention.
Vanya Gastrow, of the Institute for Security Studies, and DA Spokesperson for Social Development and Standing Committee Chairperson in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Wendy Kaizer-Philander, as well as ACDP leader and member of the police portfolio committee, Kenneth Meshoe discussed this with eNCA.