Mpumalanga's police commissioner has ordered a top-level investigation into allegations of torture, bribery and corruption within the province's serious and violent crimes unit. The investigation started last week amid allegations of apartheid-era torture methods used by members of the unit against detainees at police cells in Witbank and Middelburg. Police officers are also alleged to be running an extortion racket, arbitrarily detaining people with the intention of extracting ransoms.