{"id":14793,"date":"2026-01-10T08:07:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T08:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/14793\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T08:07:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T08:07:22","slug":"three-taxi-operators-to-appear-in-court-after-intimidating-saps-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/14793\/","title":{"rendered":"Three taxi operators to appear in court after intimidating Saps officers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\tPolice seized a firearm, ammunition and a notebook allegedly linked to organised extortion.\n\t<\/p>\n

A brazen act of intimidation has landed three taxi operators in custody after they mistakenly threatened police officers in Musina, Limpopo, on Thursday.<\/p>\n

According to the South African Police Service (Saps), the taxi operators confronted the officers during an anti-smuggling operation, thinking they were transporting hitchhikers.<\/p>\n

Saps spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said the officers had been travelling in an unmarked vehicle on the N1 near the Sasol petrol station when a white Toyota Corolla stopped them.<\/p>\n

Armed threats and \u2018unlawful policing\u2019<\/p>\n

The Corolla was fitted with white strobe lights, bearing local taxi patrol stickers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieving the vehicle to be transporting hitchhikers between Musina and Makhado without their \u2018permission\u2019, the three occupants of the Corolla unlawfully confronted the Saps members, pointed them with a firearm, threatened them with a sjambok, and attempted to exercise policing powers they do not possess,\u201d Mashaba said on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice officers immediately identified themselves and reacted tactically,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Live ammunition and explosives found in Benoni Wendy house<\/a><\/p>\n

The taxi operators tried to flee, but the Saps officers apprehended them.<\/p>\n

They later admitted that they had mistaken the police vehicle for a civilian vehicle, Mashaba said.<\/p>\n

He said their actions highlighted the grave risks posed when individuals take the law into their own hands unlawfully.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Ammunition seized during the arrest of three taxi operators in Musina, Limpopo on 8 January, 2026. Picture: X\/@SAPoliceService<\/p>\n

Police seize firearm and ammunition<\/p>\n

The suspects, aged between 32 and 49, were arrested for pointing a firearm<\/a>, the unlawful use of white strobe lights, crimen injuria, reckless and negligent driving, and intimidation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the arrest, police also seized a notebook containing vehicle registration numbers and recorded amounts of money allegedly extorted from motorists, indicating possible organised extortion activities,\u201d Mashaba said.<\/p>\n

Items seized include one 9mm pistol with 2 magazines and 33 live rounds of ammunition, one sjambok, one white strobe light, and one notebook linked to alleged extortion.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Police officer and alleged arms dealer arrested with heavy cache of firearms in KZN<\/a><\/p>\n

Police also confiscated the car they were travelling in.<\/p>\n

They are expected to appear before the Musina Magistrate\u2019s Court on Friday, 9 January.<\/p>\n

\"Three\"ThreeA sjambok and a white strobe light that police seized. Picture: X\/@SAPoliceService<\/p>\n

\u2018Dangerous\u2019 actions<\/p>\n

Acting Limpopo police commissioner Major General Jan Scheepers said Saps will continue to act decisively against anyone who endangers lives and undermines lawful policing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMistakenly confronting police officers with firearms underscores how dangerous and unlawful these actions are,\u201d Scheepers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo individual or group has the authority to stop vehicles, intimidate motorists, or enforce the law,\u201d Scheepers said.<\/p>\n

He also commended the Provincial Tracking Team for their \u201cprofessionalism\u201d and \u201crestraint\u201d under extremely dangerous circumstances.<\/p>\n

NOW READ: Foreign nationals arrested after discovery of illegal liquor plant in Cape Town<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police seized a firearm, ammunition and a notebook allegedly linked to organised extortion. A brazen act of intimidation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[8553,6186,131,9816],"class_list":{"0":"post-14793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-extortion","9":"tag-limpopo-saps","10":"tag-south-africa","11":"tag-taxi-industry"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}