Defence Minister Angie Motshekga says arresting low-level criminals will not dismantle organised crime, with intelligence, community involvement and a co-ordinated government response needed to target criminal networks and their leaders.
Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga has acknowledged that arresting low-level criminals and seizing weapons and drugs will not dismantle organised crime, saying authorities must get to those behind the criminal networks.
Motshekga was answering oral questions from MPs in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday about Operation Prosper and the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist police in tackling organised crime and illegal mining.
“Catching the runners will not solve organised crime,” she said.
Motshekga said the focus needed to be on intelligence work to establish where drugs and firearms came from, who was moving them and who was directing the criminal networks.
