WATCH | Crime intelligence boss tells commission about recruitment of cops into criminal cartels

Head of crime intelligence Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo says criminal cartels now use the strategy of hiring law enforcement officers to carry out their orders.

Khumalo told the Madlanga commission on Tuesday that the law enforcement officials add value to the criminal operations as they are able to feed them with crucial information.

“As I have indicated, the recruitment by the organised groups in the form of syndicates or cartels is very targeted.

“They will want to have more of their members [to] have experience or still serving within the criminal justice system, that includes SAPS,” Khumalo said, adding that the arrest of Johannesburg policeman Michael Tau for the murder of Armand Swart did not come as a surprise.

Tau is the alleged hitman in the killing of Swart and he was arrested hours after Swart was shot 23 times after his company flagged an irregular multimillion Transnet tender.

Tau was found in Bramley, Johannesburg, and in his car police found 15 used cartridges.

hey will want to have more of their members [to] have experience or still serving within the criminal justice system, that includes SAPS

—  Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo

Khumalo said during the raid of alleged cartel member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala they had to beef up their team.

“We had to mobilise extra special task force members from outside Gauteng.

“The main reason for this is because we did a threat assessment on Mr Matlala and based on the profiles of his more than 20 protectors, we discovered that his protectors are former special task force members.

“We were not going to do our work properly if we only sent a combat team to Matlala’s house that was less trained than what we were going to face,” said Khumalo.

The commission continues.

Sowetan