The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) said it had made significant inroads in apprehending individuals involved in high profile cases.
On Friday morning, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, the national head of the DPCI (also known as the Hawks) provided information on the significant strides made by the department in the fourth quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.
During that period, the Hawks secured 547 arrests, 182 convictions and 88 assets court orders.
These pertain to national priority offences which includes serious corruption, serious organised crime, serious commercial crime, fraud, money laundering, police killings, cash-in-transit robberies, illegal mining, damage to essential infrastructure, theft of fuel from the pipelines, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and trafficking in endangered species.
The majority of the arrests, 224 in total, were fraud-related.
During that period, 182 convictions were secured before the courts, with 84 convictions resulting from Serious Organised Crime, 61 from Serious Commercial Crime and 37 from Serious Corruption.
The majority of the convicts, 120 to be exact, are South African, while 55 are foreign nationals.
Lebeya said the top two provinces that contributed a high number of convictions were Gauteng, with 32, followed by the North West with 31 convictions.
A highlight of the Hawks’ arrest include:
Police killings
On the issue of police killings, Lebeya said an attack on a police official, is an attack on the State. He said a total of 22 police officers were killed during the fourth quarter. Seventeen were on-duty and five were off-duty. The DPCI said eight people have been sentenced and there had been 18 arrests.
Cash-in-Transit Heists
Lebeya said “cash-in transit heists continue to be thorn in our country.”
He said the DPCI, in collaboration with private organisations, continues to strengthen the fight against these crimes.
“The CIT robbers are ruthless and do not care about the lives of bystanders.”
He said for this quarter, 51 cases were reported and 20 arrests were made. Fifteen people have been convicted.
DRUGS
A total of R47,224,231.20 worth of drugs were seized and 68 people were arrested. The Hawks said five drug laboratories were dismantled, with the total value of R27 million.
Citing an example, Lebeya said the Germiston-based Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team conducted a search in February this year at a dilapidated factory at Pulley Street, Boltonia, Krugersdorp West.
Cops discovered a clandestine drug laboratory with large quantities of an assortment of methamphetamine-producing chemicals. Nine suspects - seven Malawians and two South Africans - were arrested. They are due back in court in September.
Illegal Mining
Thirty-six people were arrested in connection with illegal mining, the majority of whom are foreign nationals from neighbouring states.
Citing a case, the Hawks said a Mozambican, Eduardo Manjane, 45, was searched by security guards while leaving Kopanong Mine in March 2024, and was allegedly found in possession of 10 pieces of gold with an estimated street value of R1.5 million. He is due back in court in July.
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