The police in North West say there are extortion attempts in Stilfontein after they discovered a person who was demanding money from contractors preparing for the mission to resurface illegal miners from the mine shaft.

STARTING TRICKS

Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said they are experiencing a bit of a challenge, but it's something that they will deal with. "As you know, we had contractors here yesterday clearing the site and doing whatever needs to be done for the resurfacing process. We are aware that some people were here yesterday, and one of them demanded something like 30% from contractors. We are starting to see signs leading to extortion, which is something that we thought was unacceptable, but this is something that we'll deal with as the police," said Mokgwabone. He added that there's no formal case that has been opened. "The reason we are raising it is that we want members of the community to also be aware that not everybody who is here is here for a good cause. We have people here but now for ulterior motives, but we will follow up on that,' Mokgwabone said.

WORK IN PROGRESS 

Mokgwabone said the rescuers haven't started with their job and he can't determine when they'll do so. "There will be communication between the rescuers and the illegal miners underground. A camera will assess the shaft before the actual mission begins. Some processes will unfold before sending the camera. Sending down the camera into the shaft doesn't mean we will spy on the illegal miners. It is part of the rescue," he said. About 400 zama zamas are still underground refusing to come out of the shaft as they fear arrest.