Police Minister, General Bheki Cele has welcomed the arrest of three possibly high ranking figures of the criminal underworld allegedly linked to an ongoing “extortion racket” of businesses in Cape Town.
Mark Lifman, Jerome Booysen and William Stevens appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates court this afternoon following their arrest by the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation.
The trio was arrested in one of the phases of an ongoing investigation into extortion, dealing in drugs, fraud, corruption and money laundering activities of the Cape Town underworld organised crime.
The Police Minister believes these arrests are a huge victory in the fight against organised crime.
“This is only the beginning of our efforts as the police to tighten the grip on these crimes committed by the underworld and run extortion rackets that undermine the state and threaten the livelihoods of local economies.” – Cele concluded.
The suspects were granted bail of R100 000 each and are due back in court on 09 February 2021.