{"id":97744,"date":"2025-05-17T10:08:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T08:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97744"},"modified":"2025-05-17T10:08:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T08:08:21","slug":"hawks-secure-over-650-arrests-in-high-profile-crackdown-on-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/hawks-secure-over-650-arrests-in-high-profile-crackdown-on-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks Secure Over 650 Arrests in High-Profile Crackdown on Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n16 May 2025 | 10:00 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

The Hawks announced on Thursday that 656 suspects had been arrested in a nationwide crackdown on serious organised crime, corruption, and commercial fraud. (File-photo: GCIS)<\/p><\/div>\n

In a major breakthrough for South Africa\u2019s crime-fighting efforts, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, has made 656 arrests in the last quarter alone. The arrests, which span a wide range of serious criminal offences, were made between January and March 2025, as part of the elite unit\u2019s quarterly performance targets.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio Islam International,<\/a><\/em> Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebea, head of the Hawks, confirmed the unit also seized 395 firearms and dismantled drug laboratories worth more than R23 million \u2014 most of which were operating in Gauteng. \u201cThese crimes are not isolated incidents,\u201d Libia said. \u201cWe are targeting networks that operate across provinces and even internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 656 arrests fall into three core categories: serious organised crime, serious commercial crime, and serious corruption. lebea outlined that the most prevalent organised crimes include cash-in-transit robberies, drug manufacturing and trafficking, crimes against protected species, and state security threats, including terror financing.<\/p>\n

In the commercial sphere, suspects were apprehended for large-scale fraud involving fake investments, embezzlement through false invoicing, and fraudulent tender processes. \u201cSome of these individuals manipulated systems using false qualifications and documents, a trend we\u2019re seeing more frequently,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most alarming are the corruption cases, implicating not only police and metro officials but also members of Parliament. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen instances where individuals unlawfully obtained firearm certificates or colluded in tender rigging,\u201d said Lebea.<\/p>\n

One notable case involved a man impersonating Libia himself, defrauding victims of over R100,000. \u201cTechnology played a vital role in tracking and arresting this individual,\u201d Lebea noted, adding that the Hawks\u2019 Digital Forensic Investigation Unit is crucial in unravelling complex cybercrime operations.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging that South Africa remains plagued by crime, Libia remains hopeful. \u201cWe act swiftly in urgent cases like kidnappings, often arresting suspects within 12 hours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Hawks\u2019 latest results offer a glimpse into the grit behind South Africa\u2019s battle against crime \u2014 a war fought not only with force, but with digital precision.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Dailly Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kahrsany and Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebea, head of the Hawks here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 16 May 2025 | 10:00 CAT In a major breakthrough for South Africa\u2019s crime-fighting efforts, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, has made 656 arrests in the last quarter alone. The arrests, which span a wide range of serious criminal offences, were made between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-08_at_13.11.59_1.width-800.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pqw","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-30 20:30:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}