| 2024/07/24 |
|
Pretoria The visit of the Secretary General to the country’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau comes at a time when the South African Police Service is hard at work in intensifying its efforts to prevent and combat transnational organized crime plaguing the country. In the past week alone, a number of takedown operations were executed by police officers in various provinces in a bid to dismantle and dislodge the work of organized crime syndicates. It is therefore encouraging to report to the Secretary General that the SAPS has been registering commendable progress in the fight against the trafficking of drugs which remains a global illicit trade affecting almost every INTERPOL member country. In the past week alone, we have been able to dismantle a clandestine drug laboratory worth R2 billion in Groblersdal in Limpopo. Our members were following up on information of suspicious activities taking place on the farm when they discovered that crystal meth amongst others was being manufactured on the farm. Five suspects including two Mexican nationals have been arrested and have already appeared in the Groblersdal District Court on a charge of dealing in drugs. This is the tenth drug laboratory to be dismantled and shutdown in that province by police since January 2024. Nationally, we are sitting at more than 33 drug labs that have been successfully shut down in the country in the last 12 months. Over the weekend, Western Cape police also intercepted cocaine with a street value of R252 million which was found during a roadblock in Stillbaai. Two suspects including a Russian national have been arrested in this case. In Magaliesburg in Gauteng, R40 million worth of dagga was also seized during operations. The arrests made this week in relation to drug dealing also saw the Western Cape police register 568 arrests. This demonstrates the successful strategy that the SAPS has embarked on that is yielding positive results. Through OPERATION SHANELA which is our weekly high density operations, where each provincial commissioner leads operations such as roadblocks and tracing operations, 21 161 criminals were arrested for dealing in drugs while 64 351 were arrested for being in possession of drugs. Since October 2023, the province of Kwazulu–Natal has also confiscated cocaine worth more than a billion rand at the provinces sea ports. The biggest drug bust was seized from the Durban Harbour in December 2023 where more than R151 million of cocaine was found disguised in meat boxes. According to our investigations, the drugs had been coming from South America into the country through vessels. I am therefore satisfied that during the last INTERPOL AGM held in Austria, Vienna, myself and the Deputy National Commissioner responsible for crime detection and the National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation were able to meet with the Police Chief of the Brazilian Federal Police, Andrei Passos Rodrigues to discuss joint operations and the sharing of intelligence to put a stop to the illicit flow of drugs between the two countries. Indeed, drugs are one of the biggest contributors to violent crimes such as murders, rape and hijackings and that is why the South African Police Service remains focused on working with law enforcement partners such as INTERPOL to eradicate the illicit trade plaguing our region and continent. Secretary General, firearms are the most preferred weapon used in the commission of crime in South Africa especially serious and violent crime such as murders. It is therefore encouraging to report to the Secretary General that the SAPS has been able to destroy more than 260 000 firearms that were seized during police operations or voluntarily surrendered to the state in the last five years. Before destroying them, ballistics testing is conducted to establish if they are linked to any specific crime. Some of the weapons were destroyed after completion of the judicial processes in which lengthy convictions were secured. The policy of the SAPS to destroy these dangerous weapons ensures they are permanently removed from our communities reiterating our commitment to making our country a much safer and better place to live in for all. In terms of INTERPOL successes, we have been able to trace and takedown a number of international organized crime syndicates that were hiding in South Africa. BLACK AXE TAKE DOWN In April 2022, An international crime syndicate suspected of swindling a US-based company out of some euros was taken down in raids across Johannesburg and Cape Town led by police from the DPCI Serious Commercial Crimes Unit in collaboration with international partners. The operation led to the arrest of eight people allegedly linked to a Nigerian organized crime syndicate that specializes in online fraud. The operation was part of a global initiative under the framework of INTERPOL’s Global Financial Crime Task Force (IGFCTF), where 14 countries including South Africa and the United States work closely together to tackle the global threat of cyber enabled financial crime. The international syndicate was also linked to romance scams, using fake online identities to lure vulnerable men and women to transfer money to them. ISRAELI GANG LEADER TAKE DOWN In November 2022, members of Interpol SA, the special task force and crime intelligence pounced on an international fugitive who had been on Interpol’s red-notice wanted list since 2015…The 46-year-old gang leader from Israel was arrested together with seven others. According to investigations, the suspect is part of a notorious gang dealing in drug trafficking, extortion and other criminal activities. In this operation, 12 firearms including five assault rifles, seven pistols and 40 000 USD was seized. PENDING EXTRADITION MATTERS IN SOUTH AFRICA INTERPOL SA currently has 48 pending extradition (judicial) matters that it is currently working on. These include amongst others two brothers, Siyabonga Ndimane and Malusi Ndimane who are currently in Eswatwini and are wanted in South Africa in connection with the AKA and Tebello Murder case. Pending extradition matters also involve the case of Michael Lomas, a former Eskom contract worker who is wanted in connection with R745-million fraud and corruption case at Eskom’s Kusile power facility. We also have the Black axe eight swindlers who are wanted in the USA for fraud, they are still in custody and are awaiting to be extradited back to the USA. SURRENDED BACK TO SOUTH AFRICA In the last year, four fugitives have been surrendered back to South Africa these include Ricard Spagni who is a former IT manager for Cape Cookies in the Western Cape. He fled the country after allegedly defrauding the company of R1.5 million. He is in custody and has appeared in the Cape Town Regional Court on 378 fraud charges. Nkosiyethu Makhunga who was charged with two counts of murder has also been extradited back into the country. This is for crimes he committed in February 2024, in the Dinabanye area, in Kwazulu-Natal, where he allegedly shot and killed two of his grandmothers after suspecting that they were bewitching him. After allegedly committing this heinous crime, Makhunga fled to Eswatini, where he was arrested and extradited back to South Africa where he is in custody and on trial. These are some of the cases in which INTERPOL member countries worked together to ensure cooperation in ensuring fugitives are hunted down and brought to book to answer to crimes committed. Within a period of a year, South Africa has issued 110 INTERPOL red notices for wanted fugitives. 368 for yellow notices that are issued for missing persons and other notices related to a variety of crimes. Secretary General, we are honoured to have been selected as one of the few INTERPOL member countries to have been presented with INTERPOL mobile devices as part of a pilot test project. These devices will enable us to scan passports and give real time information on the profile of the individual. It will also enable us to identify stolen and hijacked vehicles. These mobile devices are linked to the INTERPOL database which gives us a greater reach and accessibility of global data on criminals and criminal activities. We remain committed as South Africa to play our part on the global stage to combat all elements of criminality as crime knows no borders through the help and structures of INTERPOL. We will as an INTERPOL member country continue to engage and full use of INTERPOL tools and services to enhance our crime combatting strategies for the benefit of the people of South Africa, the region and the continent …to make the world a safer place. I THANK YOU
|
|
|
| Additional content: |
|
|
