Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula talks on a successful top secret operation
Yesterday a multidisciplinary team, conisisting of Hawks, SARS, CI conducted a takedown operation. Nine members of a syndicate suspected of operating a large scale value added tax (VAT) fraud scam, with a potential loss to the fiscus of more than R90 million.
Hawks teams arrested the nine suspects – eight men and a woman between the ages of 35 and 70 years - at their homes in upmarket residential areas in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal during a search and seizure operation conducted simultaneously at twelve premises at dawn yesterday. These included a number of business premises leading to several high profile arrests of criminal syndicates. Two criminal syndicates are extremely sophisticated as such SAPS and other law enforcement have to be as sophisticated – you will recall I have insisted on intelligence led policing under the ‘Organised Crime Threat Assessment’ (OCTA) as the main tool to target the untouchbles, the dark syndiucates who are the actual root of serious crime.
South Africans can not live side by side with criminal syndicates. SAPS OCTA aims to refocus crime fighting to criminal modus operandi analysis. This is about tracking and dealing a blow to the source of crime – the kingpins, crime financiers and planners. These are the people who drive luxury cars and behave as though they are ordinary hard working people. We are targetting these masquaraders head on – one by one. Their crimes are massive and through their criminality, humdreds of other crimes get committed. We are dealing with modus operandi of crime. Through OCTA, I am saying to top gangs and top crime families; South Africa is being disinfected of your kind, watch your back because we are watching you. You are next. Three Criminals are getting extremely sophistitcated and police have to be miles ahead of criminals each time and anticipate each move like good chess players – OCTA and intelligence led policing aims to close the space, any space, above or underground. The issue is that crime will continue to be present if that which makes it thrive is not de-resourced and close. Operations are on-going and these strategic police operation are quite and patient, deliberate – we request the media to bear with us when we are not able to share progress on projects or operations so that their success is not placed at risked and importantly our human assets are not placed at risk.
I congratulate our Police Men and Women, SARS offcials for a job well done, risking their lives for for the sake of our future, our kids. These criminals masquerade as normal and honest business people who own and operate normanl day to day businesses but they are crime kingpins. Four people we are targetting under OCTA are respected people of the community while they are destroying the future of our kids. We can't stand idling while the future of our kids get destroyed. We must stamp the authority of the state. OCTA is aiming at dealing a huge blow at these masquarades. Our mandate is to rid South Africa of corruption and the underworld criminality amongst others, our work is undergoing at times quitely, this includes all matters currently under intense public discourse – there will be action. Our fight against corruption and organized crime is a quite revolution, it is not going to be televized but it will bite steadly but steadfastly without any fear or favor given – there are no holy cows is these secret projects.
Syndicates are involved in anything criminal, human trafficking, drugs manufactirung and traffiking, car highjecking, assets in transit five trafficking, luxury goods fake goods manufacturing and importing, wild life trafficking and poaching, financing of illegal sheebens and tarvens, taxi and bus wars, uber attacks, counterfit currency printing, public sector corruption and many others. In essence, before you get the street thug, you need a syndicate that gives him criminal oxygen.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are de-resourcing criminality. The space will have no financiers, no planners, no master-minds, no runners as we spread OCTA on to all of them. We must together ensure a safer South Africa and create a conducive environment for economic growth for the benefit of all South Africans.
Media enquiries:
Mr Esethu Hasane
Cell: 071 259 2422 (Media Liaison Officer)
