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The Citizen
11-05-2025
- The Citizen
Nowhere to hide for high-profile criminals
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) has made significant inroads in apprehending individuals involved in high-profile cases, ensuring accountability and justice for victims. This is according to DPCI head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, who briefed media on Thursday on the successes and progress made with regard to high-profile cases in the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year. He said the DPCI remains committed to its mandate of investigating, preventing and combating national priority offences without fear, favour or prejudice. A total of 656 suspects appeared before the various courts in the country during the fourth quarter. Of these arrests, 450 (74%) are South African, whereas 157 (26%) are foreign nationals. 'Of the 656 suspects, the Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) secured 364, the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation (SCCI) secured 220, while the Serious Corruption Investigation (SCI) secured 72 suspects before court,' Lebeya said. He said most of the arrests were effected in Gauteng with 139, North West with 99, KZN with 88, and the Eastern Cape and Free State with 73 suspects each. 'During these arrests, 395 firearms and 1 746 rounds of ammunition were seized. Seven clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled with drugs worth a total street value of R23 361 125. 'During this same period, the directorate secured convictions for 239 accused persons. A total of 266 (253 natural and 13 juristic) accused persons, including those convicted in the previous quarters, were sentenced during the quarter under review. 'Of the 253 sentenced natural persons, 139 (55%) are South Africans, while 114 (45%) are foreign nationals. Most of these convictions and sentences were secured in Gauteng,' Lebeya said. He says of these convictions, SOCI secured 157, SCCI secured 73 and SCI secured nine. 'To ensure that crime does not pay, the Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) has contributed towards the issuing of a combined 102 freezing and forfeiture orders amounting to R418 938 340.14. 'Of these orders, 56 were preservation orders with a monetary value of R370 952 439.49, with 45 forfeiture orders with a monetary value of R14 985 900.65 and one restraint order with a monetary value of R33 000 000,' he said. Lebeya said an amount of R19 104 419.50 has been deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account. The Digital Forensic Investigation Section of the PCSI component of the DPCI finalised the extraction and analysis of data evidence from 324 electronic devices within 90 days during the quarter. Attacks on police Touching on police murders by criminals, Lebeya said an attack on police officials was an assault on society and an attack on the state. 'We categorised the killing of police officials as that national priority offence that requires the attention of the DPCI,' Lebeya said. During this period, 22 police officials were murdered, of which 16 were off duty while six were on duty. He said 50% of these murders happened in Gauteng. With regards to cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies, Lebeya said during the fourth quarter, 50 incidents of CIT robberies were received by the directorate. 'A total number of 28 suspects, excluding 10 who died in exchange of gunfire with the police, were arrested. It is comforting that no one was released on bail. 'Over and above this, 36 suspects were arrested in CIT-related cases, making a combined number of 64 arrests for CIT and related crime,' Lebeya said. – Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
09-05-2025
- IOL News
Surge in police killings raises alarm bells for South Africa's justice system
Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya. Image: Fikile Marakalla/GCIS TWENTY-TWO police officers have been killed in just three months. The majority of them - 16 - were off-duty at the time of their murder. This is according to Hawks boss Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya who was speaking at the release of the fourth quarterly results on Thursday. Lebeya said an attack on police officials is an assault on society and an attack on the State. "We categorised the killing of police officials as a national priority offence that requires the attention of the Hawks." Fifty percent of the murders took place in Gauteng. Concerning police killings, Lebeya said 38 people were arrested, 14 convictions secured, and 11 life imprisonments handed down by the courts. "In addition, 487 years imprisonment were secured." During this period, 33 police officers - 19 traffic officers and 14 SAPS members - were arrested for various crimes. These crimes range from fraud, corruption, murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating the ends of justice. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ These officers were arrested in the Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Free State provinces. "Six police officials were convicted and sentenced for defeating the ends of justice, conspiracy to commit robbery, fraud and corruption." Lebeya said that during the period from January 2025 until March 2025, a total of 656 people were arrested, the majority of them being South African. "Of these arrests, 74% are South Africans and 26% are foreign nationals." Most of these arrests were made in Gauteng, with 139 recorded, followed by 99 arrests in North West and 88 in KwaZulu-Natal. During these arrests, 395 firearms and 1,746 rounds of ammunition were seized. Seven clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled with drugs worth a total street value of over R23 million. 'During this same period, the Directorate secured convictions on 239 accused persons.' Lebeya said the Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) contributed towards issuing 102 freezing and forfeiture orders amounting to over R418 million. Of these orders, 56 were Preservation Orders with a monetary value of over R370 million. Over R19 million had been deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA). Lebeya also said a total of 50 cash-in-transit heists were recorded during this quarter. Sixty-four people have been arrested in cash-in-transit related crimes, with ten suspected criminals killed in a shootout with cops. Thirteen convictions were secured on CIT and related cases. Twenty-four cases of kidnappings were reported to the Hawks during the period under review. Of the 35 suspects arrested, 28 were South Africans and seven were foreign nationals. During the fourth quarter, 78 suspects were arrested and 37 convictions for tax-related offences. Lebeya reiterated that the Hawks would continue to execute its mandate without fear, favour or prejudice by the Constitution and other laws of the Republic,' he said. Cape Times
The Citizen
08-05-2025
- The Citizen
Gauteng residents and police officials keep Hawks busy
Most of the arrests and convictions were secured in the City of Gold. Gauteng kept the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI), also known as the Hawks, on its toes due to criminal activities during the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year. Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya provided an update on Thursday on some of the cases that have kept the unit busy during this period. Arrests and convictions According to the Hawks head, 656 suspects – 607 natural persons and 49 juristic persons – appeared before the various courts in the country. Of these arrests, 450 (74%) were South Africans, while 127 (26%) were foreign nationals. ALSO READ: Lawyer, plumber and then security professional: Inside the elaborate cons of scammers nabbed by the Hawks Of the 656 suspects, the serious organised crime investigation secured 364, the serious commercial crime investigation secured 220, while the serious corruption investigation secured 72 suspects before the courts. Gauteng leads The majority of the arrests happened in Gauteng -139, North West – 99, KwaZulu-Natal – 88, Eastern Cape, and Free State – 73 each. During these arrests, 395 firearms and 1746 rounds of ammunition were seized. Seven clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled with drugs worth R23.6 million. During the same period, the Hawks secured 239 convictions. Of these, 253 accused were natural persons and 13 juristic persons. Of the 253 sentenced natural persons, 139 (55%) were South Africans, while 114 (45%) were foreigners. Most of these convictions and sentences happened in Gauteng. Of these convictions, the serious organised crimes investigation secured 157, the serious commercial crimes investigation secured 73, while the serious corruption investigation secured 9. ALSO READ: Hawks arrest three in R2m fraud scandal at University of Fort Hare 'To ensure that crime does not pay, the Priority Crimes Specialised Investigation (PCSI) has contributed towards the use of a combined 102 freezing and forfeiture orders amounting to R418 million 938 340. Of these orders, 56 were preservation orders, with a monetary value of R370 952 439,' said the Hawks head. 'With 45 forfeiture orders with a monetary value of R14 985 000, one restraint order with a monetary value of R33 million. An amount of R19 104 419 has been deposited into the criminal assets recovery account. This performance makes the total recorded successes of arrests, convictions and attachment of assets 1 024.' Hawks on police killings The Hawks once again bemoaned the killings of police officers. Some lost their lives in the line of duty, while others were off duty. During this period, 22 police officials were murdered – 16 were off-duty, while six were on duty. According to the Hawks head, 50% of these murders happened in Gauteng. ALSO READ: Hawks arrest two women for editing matric certificates Officials managed to secure 38 arrests and 14 convictions, with 11 life sentences plus 487 years in prison secured. Two Metro police officers were killed during this period. However, the police force is also bleeding officials to crime, with 33 police officials arrested during this period. According to the Hawks' head, 19 of these officials were traffic officials, while 14 were Saps officials. 'They were arrested for cases ranging from fraud, corruption, murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and defeating the ends of justice,' said Lebeya. Most of these officers were arrested in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Free State. Six police officials were convicted and sentenced for defeating the ends of justice, conspiracy to commit robbery, fraud, and corruption. READ NEXT: Crackdown on coltan scam continues as Hawks arrest two more suspects
IOL News
08-05-2025
- IOL News
Crime Report: 656 arrests, 22 cops killed, drug labs bust as Hawks clamp down on crime
The National Head for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya. Image: Fikile Marakalla/GCIS The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks) said they had made significant inroads in apprehending individuals in high-profile cases, ensuring accountability and justice for the victims. Speaking at the release of the fourth quarterly results on Thursday, Hawks boss Lieutenant General Dr/Advocate Godfrey Lebeya presented a sobering report of the crime situation. He said that during the period January 2025 until March 2025, a total of 656 people were arrested, the majority of them being South African. "Of these arrests, 74% are South Africans and 26% are foreign nationals." The majority of these arrests were made in Gauteng, with 139 recorded, followed by 99 arrests in North West and 88 in KwaZulu-Natal. During these arrests, 395 firearms and 1,746 rounds of ammunition were seized. Seven clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled with drugs worth a total street value of over R23 million. 'During this same period, the Directorate secured convictions on 239 accused persons. He said the Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) contributed towards issuing 102 freezing and forfeiture orders amounting to over R418 million. Of these orders, 56 were Preservation Orders with a monetary value of over R370 million. Lebeya said over R19 million had been deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA).
