MINISTRY OF POLICE

MEDIA STATEMENT

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 – 8 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.

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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.

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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 bare 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.

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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

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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 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.