Exceptional investigation by leading private investigators in Stellenbosch, Royal Investigations, and the Detective Unit of Stellenbosch police led to the arrest of yet another sextortion suspect this past week.
The 22-year-old suspect Mbuyelo Result Nkuna, a final-year student at the University of Limpopo, was apprehended in Mankweng, Polokwane following an extensive investigation last Thursday (6 October).
It is alleged that Nkuna targeted a Stellenbosch University student as of January last year, apparently masquerading as a white woman named Sherlot.
“He managed to convince the student to exchange explicit pictures and subsequently extorted money from him for nearly two years,” said John Alexander, lead investigator at Royal Investigations.
“The Matie student enlisted the services of Royal Investigations in August to trace the suspect and assist Stellenbosch police in apprehending the suspect.”
Alexander embarked on an intense track-and-trace operation and investigation, which revealed the identity of the suspect. “We provided all the necessary details to Captain Bernard Adams of Stellenbosch police and travelled to Limpopo on 6 October to assist the police in their endeavour to arrest the suspect on charges of extortion.”
According to Alexander, Adams and Sergeant Allister Marajh played an important role in the operation. “They travelled 1 800 km to conduct further investigation and ultimately arrested the suspect, who we later learnt is originally from Giyani and a final-year student at Limpopo University.”
He further pointed out this type of extortion is on the rise in South Africa, as students from prestigious schools and universities being targeted, and urged young people to refrain from exchanging compromising pictures on social media platforms.
“Criminals lurk on dating websites and have total disregard for the damage they cause. We believe there is an exerted effort in targeting naive individuals from moderately rich backgrounds to extort huge amounts of money to prevent public exposure,” Alexander warned. “They keep the explicit pictures for ransom and demand various payments in exchange for deleting the pictures. Criminals cannot act with impunity, we have the rule of law and very effective enforcement mechanisms to ensure those on the wrong side of the law will pay for their misdeeds.”
Alexander believes partnership policing is helpful in identifying and arresting criminals. “We have a common goal: to fight crime and bring justice to victims,” he said.
“Gratitude to the dedicated team from Stellenbosch police, in particular Adams and Marajh, who have restored public confidence in the police. We have police officers upholding their oaths to serve and protect.”
