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Hawks arrested over 500 suspects in three months
The highest number of arrests related to fraud.
A Hawks branded car. Picture: Jacques Nelles
More than 500 people were arrested for various offences in three months, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), known as Hawks, revealed on Friday.
Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya briefed the media on Friday about the progress and milestones achieved in the fourth quarter of the 2023/2024 financial year.
Hawks arrests between January and March 2024.
Lebeya indicated that 547 people were arrested for various offences including corruption, organised crime, human trafficking, fraud, money laundering, cash-in-transit (CITs) heists, robbery, illegal mining and others between January and March 2024.
The total number included 526 natural persons and 21 entities.
“Of these natural persons, 421, which is 80% are South Africans while 105, which is 20% are foreign nationals,” he said on Friday.
The Hawks head indicated that the highest number of arrests related to fraud, with 224 accused including 21 entities.
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Lebeya reported that of the total number of arrests, 182 convictions were secured. This included seven entities.
“Of these convicts, 120 are South Africans while 55 which represent 30% are foreign nationals. The top convicted foreign nationals are Zimbabweans with 11, Basotho and Mozambican nationals represented nine each.”
Furthermore, the top two provinces that contributed a high number of convictions were Gauteng followed by North West, with 32 and 31 respectively.
“During this period, 736 firearms, 1 159 ammunition and 69 explosives were seized.”
CIT heists – A “thorn” in SA
Lebeya later expressed concern over the rise in cash-in-transit robberies, saying this crime continues to be a “thorn” in South Africa.
“CIT robbers are ruthless and do not care about the lives of bystanders. For this quarter, 51 cases were reported, 20 arrests were affected and 15 convictions were secured.”
He said two suspects received life sentences plus 216 years behind bars in Eastern Cape for a CIT robbery incident that took place in 2022. A bystander was killed in the incident.
The Eastern High Court in Makhanda convicted the two suspects on charges of robbery with aggregating circumstances, murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in February 2024.
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Two suspects, Ignatious Sibusiso Mashinini and Sello Lucky Serumula, were convicted in connection to a 2020 CIT robbery incident in Free State.
Lebeya said Mashinini lost his middle finger during a shoot-out with police.
“On 13 November 2020, he was positively linked to the robbery and traced to Benoni where he was hiding without his finger.”
The suspects were found guilty of robbery, attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and theft of a motor vehicle by the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein in January 2024.
“The sentencing was postponed pending the application for recusal of the judge brought by Serumula. The case is postponed to 19 July 2024.”
Police killings
Lebeya further revealed that 22 police officers were killed in three months. Seventeen officers were murdered while they were off-duty and five were working.
The police killings resulted in 18 people being arrested.
“Eight accused persons have been sentenced, five of whom were given life imprisonment.”
The Hawks head cited three major incidents including one where a Hawks officer was murdered by four suspects in Gauteng.
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The 62-year-old man’s body was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Tsakane, Ekurhuleni, on 8 January.
The senior officer had intended to travel to Durban, KwaZulul-Natal (KZN), where he worked when he was accosted by suspects at a filling station in Heidelberg.
The suspects, two South African and two Mozambican nationals, were nabbed on 17 January.
“A cellphone and laptop belonging to the deceased, a pistol with five live ammunition, carjack, wallet, a pair of running shoes, suitcase, keys, cooler box and a knife were seized. The vehicle belonging to the deceased was found already burnt,” Lebeya said.
Watch the Hawks briefing below:
The four suspects’ case is before the Tsakane Magistrate’s Court and will be back in the dock on 24 August 2024.
The second incident saw a 23-year-old suspect, who was arrested for rape and kidnapping, killing an officer in Limpopo in November 2020.
The suspect stabbed the officer while in custody and robbed him of his prison cell keys.
He further stole money from a safe and escaped before he was re-arrested.
The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering the officer plus an additional 50 years relating to other charges in March 2024.
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