SA Hawks ready to swoop in Nam

South Africa's elite Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), popularly known as the Hawks, are investigating a money laundering a case in which a Chinese national and a Namibian were arrested at the Vioolsdrift border post with R2.6 million.This comes amid questions being asked about how the large amount of cash passed unnoticed at Namibia's Noordoewer border post.Hawks spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi confirmed to Namibian Sun yesterday that the crime-fighting unit, which is also at the forefront of probing state capture allegations involving the Zuma and Gupta families in the neighbouring state, had made the arrests at the South African border post on 13 February.She, however, refused to answer questions related to whether the Hawks believed the current case is just the tip of the iceberg and whether they had already approached Namibian authorities to assist in the cross-border probe.The two suspects, 40-year-old Chinese national Chen Dangygin and 32-year-old Namibian citizen Jemin Stanraus, who have been charged with money laundering and being in possession of stolen property, are due to apply for bail in the Springbok Magistrate's Court later this week.Menisci confirmed yesterday that the duo had made their first court appearance on Thursday 15 February. “The matter was postponed to 19 February, pending further investigation, and it has now been postponed to 22 February for a formal bail application,” she said. The Hawks target organised and economic crimes, corruption and other offences referred to it by the state president or the South African Police Service (SAPS). Prominent cases currently being investigated by the Hawks include a state capture case in which former South African President Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane, is implicated, along with the infamous Gupta family and senior Free State ANC politicians, in allegedly stealing over N$200 million from poor black farmers. Meanwhile, questions have been raised about how the R2.6 million had passed through the Namibian border unnoticed on 13 February. According to //Karas regional crime investigations coordinator, Deputy Commissioner Chrispin Mubebo, not all cars are scanned at the country's border posts, which gives a window of opportunity for these kind of errors to creep in. He explained that too many cars are making their way through border posts and it will create a bottleneck, should every single car be checked and scanned. “It is a very big concern but there is very little we can do about it at this point. People will end up complaining. And then we have the issue of manpower. Sometimes we have only one official on a shift and this person must handle the arrivals and the departures,” he said. JEMIMA BEUKES

SA Hawks ready to swoop in Nam

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

SA Hawks ready to swoop in Nam

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

Please login to leave a comment

Login