Polokwane – The dreaded “construction mafia” got its fingers burnt in Limpopo when police nabbed several suspects.
The suspects were arrested on Friday, 13 February 2026, when they tried to extort shares from a company subcontracted to install Wi-Fi infrastructure at a village in Vuwani.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said members of the Provincial Organised Crime Unit and Thohoyandou Tactical Response Team arrested two male suspects in Lwamondo village.
The arrests came just a day after President Cyril Ramaphosa stated during his State Of the Nation Address that firm action would be taken against construction mafias.
“We are going after these gangs,” said President Ramaphosa, adding that 20 task teams had been set up to go after illegal miners, the construction Mafia, and those who are stripping the country of essential infrastructure.
Narrating how the arrests were made, Colonel Ledwaba said: “On Friday, 13 February 2026, at approximately 11:00, members of the Provincial Organised Crime Unit received a complaint about four suspects who disrupted the construction project installing WIFI infrastructure”.
Colonel Ledwaba recalled that the men arrived in a Toyota Hilux bakkie with a Limpopo registration number.
They demanded the value of 30% shares from the construction company, and threatened that failure to comply would mean work on the Wi-Fi installation would have to stop.
“The members operationalised the information, and the suspects were traced and found, and they were subsequently arrested,” said Colonel Ledwaba.
“The motor vehicle they were driving was also seized as part of the ongoing investigation.”
Colonel Ledwaba said the suspects, aged 42 and 43, will appear before the Vuwani Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 16 February 2026.
They face charges of extortion.
Two other suspects were still at large.
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