Tracing the origin of WhatsApp messages in which payment was demanded to end prosecution of a case in court, and in which a police officer was impersonated, led from Bloemfontein to inmates at the Zonderwater Correctional Centre in Cullinan, Gauteng.
Following this, members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (Hawks) Serious Corruption Investigation team in Bloemfontein, assisted by the correctional centre’s Emergency Support team, conducted a search and seizure operation in the cells at Zonderwater Correctional Centre.
According to a press release by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 7 November, this operation is a result of a complaint involving a WhatsApp extortion scheme in which a Hawks’ official was impersonated.
In this scheme it is claimed that the sender of the messages had influence over an active criminal matter. The sender offered to have the trial against an accused person terminated in exchange for a payment of R200 000.
Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti, police spokesperson, said in April this year an advocate of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reported to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit in Bloemfontein that an attorney representing an accused person had raised concerns about these messages.
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The wife of the accused allegedly received WhatsApp communication in which the sender introduced himself as a police officer who claimed to be working with the state prosecutor handling the case. The individual demanded payment to end the prosecution.
The Hawks initiated an investigation, which traced the origin of the messages to Zonderwater Correctional Services. This led to the operation targeting about eight inmates believed to be linked to the extortion scheme. During the search, officers recovered cellphones, notebooks and documents.
The investigation into this matter continues.
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