SAPS hosts Interpol conference on organised crime

Cross-border smuggling of motor vehicles, human trafficking or of drugs, illegal mining, and firearms proliferation remain priorities for the South African Police Services in the fight against transnational organised crime. So said the national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola at the 27th Interpol regional conference that started on Wednesday in Cape Town.

Organised under the theme of “leveraging cooperation, innovation, and partnerships to fight transnational organised crime”, the three-day conference is meant to provide Interpol’s 193 member countries an opportunity to assess crime threats and emerging trends.

“This conference is more than a platform to discuss challenges. It is an opportunity to chart a course forward to anticipate, prevent and neutralise threats before they undermine our progress,” said Masemola.

During his opening address, Interpol president, Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi highlighted two operations that have yielded positive results in the region and on the continent: Operation Red Card and Operation Serengeti 2.0.

Operation Red Card, according to Interpol, is meant to disrupt and dismantle cross-border criminal networks. The operation has, according to Al-Raisi, resulted in the dismantling of cyber-fraud networks with 306 suspects arrested and thousands of scam devices seized.

“Just a few days ago, Operation Serengeti 2.0 brought together investigators from 18 African countries to tackle high-harm and high-impact cybercrimes including ransomware, online scams and business email compromise. This operation led to the arrest of 1,209 cybercriminals targeting nearly 88,000 victims, the recovery of 97.4 million USD and the dismantling of 11,432 malicious infrastructures,” said the high ranking officer of Abu Dhabi police.

Lt Gen Mkhwanazi at the Interpol regional conference in Cape Town.

The acting minister of police, Firoz Cachalia said that data sharing and cooperation of law enforcement officers across the continent could be one of the ways to curb illicit financial flows.

The Economic Commission for Africa’s Final Report on Illicit Financial Flows From Africa showed that African countries suffered significant losses from illicit financial flows, estimated in the billions every year.

“Interpol plays a critical role in limiting these illicit financial flows and regional and continental cooperation is key to this. Data sharing and law enforcement liaisons across the continent can be one measure to curb illicit financial flows, along with integrated operations by the various law enforcement agencies,” Cachalia said.

Among those who are attending the conference is the KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkwanazi who made explosive allegations about the involvement of high ranking police, politicians and members of the judiciary in organised crime. Mkhwanazi, however, declined to comment on the Madlanga commission, the inquiry into these allegations where he will be a key witness.