Johannesburg – South Africa recorded 106 cases of blackmail between April and June 2026, with most involving threats to expose compromising information, photographs or videos, according to the latest quarterly crime statistics.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia released the figures on Friday, covering the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. The figures show that 519 extortion cases were reported nationally during the three-month period, highlighting the continued threat posed by organised and financially motivated crime.
Financial extortion accounted for the largest share of reported extortion cases, with 291 cases, including 73 ransom-related cases.
Protection rackets, including those targeting businesses, construction companies and the taxi industry, accounted for a further 112 cases, with 85 involving demands for protection fees.
Acting Minister of Police, Professor Firoz Cachalia releases the first-quarter crime statistics for the 2026/27 financial year. #ServicedeliveryZA #CrimeStats https://t.co/WsiRFO2N24
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) August 28, 2026
The Western Cape recorded the highest number of protection-fee cases.
Of the 106 blackmail cases, 84 involved threats to publish or reveal compromising information, photographs or footage. A further 22 cases involved demands for money in exchange for not opening or withdrawing criminal cases, or for not testifying in court. Six cases of cyber extortion involving activities such as hacking, data theft and phishing were also recorded.
The figures come as South Africa continues to grapple with evolving forms of extortion.
TimesLIVE reported in June that Cachalia had warned that authorities still did not have all the answers to the growing extortion problem, partly because victims are often too afraid to report such crimes.
The latest statistics also show some improvement in serious violent crime. Murder fell by 5.9%, from 5,770 cases during the same period last year to 5,427, while carjackings, residential robberies, business robberies and cash-in-transit robberies also declined.
However, Cachalia cautioned against interpreting the reductions as an indication that South Africa’s crime problem has been solved.
“While percentage decreases are encouraging, they do not erase the reality that far too many South Africans continue to lose their lives through violent crime.”
He added: “Every murder remains one too many. Every victim deserves justice.”
The government has identified 140 high-crime police stations for targeted intervention, while Cachalia also linked violent crime to alcohol abuse and unlicensed liquor outlets.
The government says the latest figures reinforce the need for intelligence-led policing, stronger investigations and coordinated action against organised crime and extortion syndicates.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
