Kimberley police have arrested a financial advisor who tried to extort money from a local casino by threatening to blow it up, Northern Cape police said on Sunday.

The 42-year-old employee of a local insurance company allegedly called the Flamingo Casino late on Friday night and threatened to detonate eight bombs if he failed to get R220 000, which he wanted delivered to a spot on the N1 highway, said Captain Tony Modise in a statement.

"A cellphone device was found in the toilet and the police were informed. All the visitors and personnel in the casino were evacuated and the place was swept by members of the dog and explosives unit... The cellphone device was detonated outside the casino."

Modise said the device was merely made to resemble a bomb and did not contain explosives. No other "bombs" were found on the premises.

The man was arrested in Magersfontein outside Kimberley on Saturday, after his cellphone calls were traced.

He was expected to appear in the Kimberley Magistrate's Court on Monday.

Sapa