The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI – better known as the Hawks) is working on more than 18 000 cases involving 752 000 charges, National Head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya has revealed.
During a media briefing to outline progress and take stock of milestones achieved during the first quarter of financial year 2024/2025, he said the case load figures quoted were from the end of the last financial year. Of those cases, nearly 12 000 accused people were serving before various courts while nearly 1 800 were receiving attention by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in order to decide on prosecution or otherwise.
Lebeya said that the DPCI has made “significant inroads in apprehending individuals… thus ensuring accountability and justice for the victims”.
The arrested suspects are alleged to have been involved in crimes including serious corruption; fraud; money laundering; police killings; cash-in-transit robberies; illegal mining; damage to essential infrastructure and crimes against the State.
With regard to first quarter 2024/25 statistics (April to June), a total number of 673 suspects, representing 637 natural persons and 36 juristic persons, were secured before various courts in the country.
“Of the 673 suspects, the Serious Organised Crime Investigation secured 370, the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation secured 234, while the Serious Corruption Investigation secured 69 suspects.
“Most of the arrests were effected in Gauteng province with 167; KwaZulu-Natal province with 114; North West province with 92; Mpumalanga province with 57 and Eastern Cape province with 56 suspects,” Lebeya said.
“During these arrests, 68 firearms and 1 797 rounds of ammunition were seized. Three clandestine drug laboratories were dismantled in Gauteng province with a total value of R16 million.”
The DPCI head added that not only were arrests made, convictions were secured against some 506 accused.
“Of these convictions, 262 accused persons, inclusive of 12 juristic persons, were sentenced, while the balance of 244 convicts, inclusive of 15 juristic persons, are to be sentenced on dates after the quarter under review. Of the 262 sentenced natural persons, 173 are South Africans while 77 are foreign nationals.
“To ensure that crime does not pay, 77 court orders were granted in relation to the assets associated with crime. These make the total recorded successes on arrests, convictions and attachment of assets to 1256,” he said.
Lebeya assured South Africans the Hawks are committed to fulfilling their mandate of “investigating, preventing and combating national priority offences”.
He added that “DPCI recapitulates its commitment to work diligently to address the evolving threat and bring those who engage in criminality to justice.” DPCI will “continue to enforce the law of the Republic without fear, favour or prejudice.”
