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Mpumalanga police arrested seven people who allegedly tried to extort money from a mine in Carolina by allegedly producing a “fake” court order.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Donald Mdhluli, said the incident happened on Wednesday when seven men arrived at the unnamed mine and presented an apparently fraudulent court order demanding that mining activities cease immediately.
He said this resulted in the closure of production and these men are also said to have demanded for payment from the mine.
Mdhluli said a case of fraud was registered when Carolina police were called in to check and assist in verifying the said court order.
“Upon further investigation, the courts seemed to have no knowledge or record of this court order hence a case of fraud with an additional charge of extortion was opened.
“This led to the subsequent arrest of the seven suspects,” Mdhluli said.
The suspects, aged between 38 and 46, were subsequently arrested and are due to appear at the Carolina Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Mdhluli said the investigation is ongoing to determine the source of the fraudulent court order and additional arrests are not being ruled out by the police.
