7 SAPS officers accused of extortion remain out on bail as case continues to drag on
The accused remain out on bail as the court awaits properly certified evidence documents and a completed charge sheet.
Magistrate Vele has postponed the extortion and kidnapping case against seven SAPS officers to October 28 for evidence documentation to be certified.
The seven accused policemen, who remain out on bail, appeared in court again on October 7 at the Booysens Magistrate’s Court.
Vele had requested all chain evidence from the defence and the state, as well as a fully completed charge sheet for all seven of the accused SAPS officers.
The documents submitted as chain evidence by both the defence and the state are required to be certified before being submitted as evidence.
Many of the documents were not certified and some were copies of the originals.
TRU intervention
The JMPD Tactical Reaction Unit (TRU) arrested the seven SAPS officers on October 22, 2025, after they allegedly extorted and kidnapped an illegal miner (zama zama) found with gold-refining materials and gold-bearing soil.
The incident unfolded when the officers reportedly demanded R5 000 from the miner, which they later increased to R30 000.
They allegedly took the victim to a loan facility to secure the payment, but the TRU intervened and made the arrests.
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