Organised crime 'breakthrough'

2007-08-03 20:19

Cape Town - There have been "significant breakthroughs" in several police investigations into organised crime, the safety and security ministry said on Friday.

The latest was the arrest of 13 members of a gang suspected of carrying out a spate of cash-in-transit heists in the Eastern Cape, it said in a statement following Thursday's meeting of the Anti-Crime Leadership Forum in Pretoria.

The forum, led by Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, includes ministers, senior government officials and business leaders.

"It was noted that priority government interventions included visible policing initiatives in seven provinces, which has resulted in crime prevention and reduction in high crime areas and significant breakthroughs in a number of cases.

"The latest example being the arrest of thirteen members of a cash-in-transit heist gang suspected of a spate of heists in the Mthatha and surrounding areas of the Eastern Cape.

"This heist gang is positively linked to eight cash-in-transit robberies, while individual members are linked to a variety of other crimes, which include vehicle hijacking, armed robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and escaping from lawful custody."

The ministry said the issue of border security and the influx of illegal immigrants into South Africa was "raised as a matter of concern" at the forum.

Further, it had noted "that the necessary management and contingency plans are in place".

- SAPA