Intercape buses travelling long routes, are among the bus operators that were regularly targeted.
Image: FILE
Seven suspects who have allegedly been tormenting and extorting long-distance bus operators between 2021 and 2023 have been nabbed.
Western Cape police said that four years of intensive investigation led to the arrest of the suspects across three provinces.
The suspects, six men and a woman, aged 35 to 62, were arrested in Cape Town, Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, and Nelspruit in Mpumalanga.
They were expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday, facing 125 charges ranging from intimidation, interference with essential infrastructure, to extortion and money laundering.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the arrests are a culmination of years of meticulous investigative work targeting key figures within the transport sector.
"These suspects have allegedly been working in concert between 2021 and 2023, tormenting, intimidating, and extorting major long-distance bus service operators and coercing them to pay substantial monies in exchange for protection and permission to operate safely on their licensed routes."
She said in some instances, the amounts imposed were so detrimental to the businesses that they either closed down or ran a limited service.
"This, in turn, negatively impacted travellers who require reliable long-distance transport services.
"The illegal operations are believed to have also increased prices, thereby hitting travellers hard in their pockets,” Potelwa said.
Potelwa said the investigation also revealed how the alleged suspects dictated terms of operation for the bus operators, the number of trips, and the number of passengers imposed on them.
“The illicit activities of the group are believed to be valued at hundreds of millions of rands."
Cape Times