Cape Town - As the lid was lifted this week on the reality of South American drug cartels infiltrating our shores with the help of gangs, crime activists together with drug rehabilitation centres have called these criminals “enemies of the state” who have made our province and country a playground for cocaine shipments.
This comes after alleged Terrible Josters gang boss Peter Jaggers remains missing after he was kidnapped on July 3 at or near in Gauteng’s Emperors Hotel.
Jaggers, who apparently has a stronghold in Kreefgat, had been attending a meeting with a business partner when he was kidnapped by Colombian cartels operatives from South America.
A ransom demand for R50 million has allegedly been demanded from his family after claims were made that he allegedly stole the cartel’s R1 billion worth of cocaine.
On July 5, Jaggers’s wife opened a case of kidnapping with Bishop Lavis police, which was confirmed by the police’s Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi.
It is also further alleged that Jaggers was not alone when he was abducted – a man by the name of William Peterson was named by another publication as being a second victim, but police did not confirm this.
A well placed source investigating the matter said Jaggers had allegedly staged the setting where six men were sent out to collect the stash of cocaine in March and went missing at sea – and were later found alive – while he apparently fetched the drugs with another boat
Jaggers is allegedly linked to the missing vessel known as The Berta Fishing Experience, which made headlines in March after six fishermen went missing for several hours at sea.
It was believed the men went fishing and had run out of fuel. Among the group were one of Jaggers’s relatives, whose name is being withheld for safety reasons.
But while Jaggers remains at large, the lid has been lifted on the operations of cartels and their influence here in the Western Cape.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told the Weekend Argus she was yet to be informed of the merits of Jaggers’s case and could not respond to the latest developments.
Willem Els of the Institute for Security Studies said Cape Town and South Africa had become a hub for cartels who shipped cocaine and heroin to our shores.
Els also made reference to the 2021 case of the vessel at Saldanha Harbour where R583m worth of cocaine was found and three Bulgarian men were sentenced to 60 years’ imprisonment and their assets worth R46.5m forfeited to the state.
Els also stated that a bakkie towing a 12-foot ski boat where 800kg of compressed pure cocaine were found with an estimated street value of R400m in 2021 was also linked to cartels.
He made reference to a study done by the ISS called The Heroin Coast which refers to the route of drugs such as cocaine and especially heroin.
We must also understand that South Africa is currently known as the Southern route,” explained Els.
The study refers to the high volume of heroin being brought to South Africa via international networks stretching to the East.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime’s report on Maritime Based drug trafficking in Eastern and Southern Africa, 2023/2024, indicates that drug smuggling via ports involves various techniques to secure shipment which includes cargo delivery, ship-to-ship transfer, drop-off/GPS and so on.
They said every year, 750 million containers are shipped around the globe, but fewer than 2% of these are inspected. “At any given time there are around 6 000 container ships travelling at sea. The busiest ports in the world handle up to 47 million twenty-foot equivalent units of containers annually. “The busiest ports in Africa can accommodate up to 2.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually, with plans in place to expand these capacities,” they indicated.
Shafiek Davids, chief operations officer, Sultan Bahu Treatment Centre, who has drug rehabilitation facilities across the Western Cape and country, said inroads by cartels meant an increase in drug sales by criminals who have found our shores an easy access point.
“If major cartels like the Colombians are using South Africa, especially the Western Cape, as a playground to distribute cocaine, it signals a potential influx of drugs,” he said.
“This poses a serious threat, as increased availability of cocaine could escalate gang wars among local gangs already involved in drug trafficking, including methamphetamine. The potential for heightened violence and drug abuse is a major worry, as it directly impacts the community we serve.”
Imraahn Mukaddam of the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition, which includes Gun Free SA, Western Cape Provincial Community Police Board, United Public Safety Front, the Mitchells Plain United Residents Association (Mura) and Inspire Network, said last week that in the past month more than 200 people were killed due to gunfire related to gangs.
Mukaddam added that the influx of cartels into the Western Cape should be deemed a national security threat.
“I believe we need to relook at the language we use when dealing with crime and how gang-related crime has evolved from street gangs to international syndicates,” he said. “If we change the language when referring to these criminal networks and call them what they really are, we can change the response of the state in dealing with them. Gangs have transformed into armed militias who recruit child soldiers to fight for control of territories where they establish parallel states.
“These armed militias are rebels against the state and the very communities they feed off. It is the social and economic conditions in vulnerable communities which they manipulate to grow their territorial dominions.
“I advocate that we should replace the criminal rhetoric with more military conflict based language. We should treat these militias for what they are, which is a threat to national security – just like you would treat a situation of political insurrection – then all the resources of the state should and can be unleashed to suppress this rebellion and the occupied territories can be liberated from the criminal stranglehold of these warlords.”
Mura’s Michael Jacobs said border control had to be tightened. “The easy availability of guns on our streets that fuels the deadly and aggressive gang and drug wars within our communities, especially on the Cape Flats, is of grave concern,” he said.
“We have seen over the years, with the relaxation of border controls, a massive increase of guns and drugs entering our borders from neighbouring countries – and even from South America, Balkan states and Asian countries.
“The army must be deployed to our border control posts, and the navy to step up coastal patrols in order to stem the tide of guns and drugs.”
Airports Company SA said they could not comment on Jaggers’s case as it was a police matter.
The Transnet National Ports Authority’s Lorraine Mabindisa was also approached for comment on the increases drug trafficking and said they would respond soon.