A 42-year-old suspect was arrested at Cornubia and subsequently charged with extortion. He will appear in the Durban's Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
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A 42-year-old man has been arrested in Cornubia on extortion charges after allegedly threatening a local security company owner and demanding money, following a series of violent threats against security guards.
Police arrested the suspect on Friday during a joint operation.
According to the South African Police Service spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza, the incident dates back to January when the man allegedly contacted the security company owner and demanded an undisclosed amount of money.
He allegedly threatened to kill the company’s security guards if the money was not paid.
The owner refused to meet the demands and reported the matter to Durban Central Police Station.
"During the same month of January, three security guards employed by the same security company were killed. The threatening phone calls to the security company owner persisted. The owner of the security company subsequently deposited the money requested by the extortionist," said Colonel Magwaza.
"Members from Crime Intelligence gathered information on the suspect's whereabouts. The intelligence was relayed to the Provincial Task Team as well as the Durban Metropolitan Police Tactical Team to operationalise. The team pounced on the suspect at Cornubia where he was arrested and subsequently charged with extortion."
The man is expected to appear at the Durban Magistrate's Court tomorrow.
Investigations into the three murder cases involving security guards are ongoing.