Five suspected extortionists who were terrorising the area of Mpumalanga township in Hammersdale and the surrounding areas were arrested during an operation in the early hours of Thursday morning, 4 September 2025 at a house in Mpumalanga township.
Police officers from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Organised Crime, working together with Provincial Combat Team, Pinetown TRT, Empangeni and Durban Central K9 unit members, Pietermaritzburg and Provincial Criminal Record Centre teams executed search warrants and pounced on the suspects, four of whom were found inside one house. They were found in possession of three firearms and several rounds of ammunition. The fifth suspect was found in a separate rondavel and he was found in possession of a firearm, ammunition and 150 mandrax tablets.
The suspects, who are aged between 18 and 40 years old, are believed to be responsible for extortion and other violent crimes which were happening in the area and will appear in the Mpumalanga Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 5 September 2025 on charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, as well as possession and dealing in drugs.
