Policemen who allegedly extort money from foreigners arrested for not having the necessary documentation have been exposed at the Booysens police station in southern Johannesburg.
The policemen were exposed on SABC 3’s Special Assignment programme on Tuesday night.
Evidence of legitimate refugees and asylum seekers unlawfully arrested, blackmailed and assaulted was also found.
For three months, a team from the programme monitored the station’s so-called ”raiding squad”.
Two to three times a week, this squad apparently roams the streets of the city’s southern suburbs to arrest foreigners.
Detainees are taken to the police station where they are held in room 6A. The police are reportedly supposed to process the foreigners at this office. They have to charge those who are illegally in the country and send them to the Jeppe police station. From there, they are transferred to the Lindela detention centre awaiting repatriation.
When the police truck arrives at Booysens, family and friends make their way to the station where, according to police, they are given an opportunity to present the detainee’s passport or refugee documents.
However, according to Special Assignment, the police are not interested in seeing legitimate documents. Instead they want money for the release of the immigrants. At the Booysens police station, it is usually R300 per immigrant, said Special Assignment.
The team also obtained evidence that there is allegedly a crooked relationship between a group of notorious drug dealers in Rosettenville and the Booysens cops.
Between June and August this year, the journalists from Special Assignment recorded several incidents where illegal immigrants were released by Booysens police after paying bribes.
A Zimbabwean immigrant took a spy camera into room 6A for the programme and got several of his friends out with a bribe. In three cases, he paid R300 to various policemen.
A Zambian immigrant bribing the police R270 to release his Congolese friend — who had legitimate papers — was also recorded.
Virtually every foreigner journalists spoke to had to pay a bribe to the Booysens police.
Payment often occurred in toilets, at a telephone booth or in a police van.
A Special Assignment producer went to the police station to ascertain if police took bribes.
When she tried to bribe a Nigerian immigrant out, a policeman asked her how much she had brought. She said R300. She later paid this money to a policeman inside the station.
The documentary is the first part of a two-part documentary on the treatment of immigrants and refugees by Booysens policemen.
Next week’s episode will deal with allegations of xenophobia and assault. – Sapa