At December 31 2022, 259 Covid-related cases were registered, and 193 people accused of a crime had been charged.
Hawks boss Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya said 42 court cases have been finalised with 40 convictions and two acquittals, a 95% conviction rate.
Lebeya and his management outlined the milestones achieved since the previous quarter.
In all cases, Lebeya said that in the third quarter, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) arrested at least 803 suspects who were successfully brought before various courts across the country.
He said 229 accused were convicted and sentenced, with 12 sharing 17 life terms.
“These arrests maintain the number of accused people on the court rolls to more than 11,673 and 1 936 cases that are under investigation have reached a decision stage. Teams from the DPCI and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are assessing them,” he said.
In his update, Lebeya only highlighted 32 cases which represent 3% of the 1,032 successes.
They include theft of fuel from pipelines, narcotics-related offences, serious commercial crimes investigation, corruption cases and those relating to Covid-19 funds.
Lebeya said corruption continues to be one of the biggest threats posed by criminals in South Africa.
“It facilitates illicit financial flows which enables money laundering to take place. Though the number of arrests are the lowest from the Serious Corruption Investigation component, it is in line with the number of cases reported. A number of other corruption cases are also appearing in the figures of Serious Commercial Crime Investigation,” he said.
He said strides have been made in cases that required meticulous investigation.
Lebeya said 26 police officers were killed in the third quarter, some of whom were off duty and others murdered by partners.
He said 22 suspects were arrested and six were convicted and sentenced.
“Of these criminals, four were sentenced to life imprisonment,” he said.
Lebeya also announced the appointment of new provincial heads, major-generals Nicolas Gerber, Gopz Govender and Molefi Mabuela, after the provincial heads of Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Northern Cape retired on December 31 2022.
He said 14 brigadiers have been appointed and they intend to fill the remaining last 10 posts soon.
“We are finalising the selection process. We have also approved the appointment of 263 members on March 1 2023. The directorate will also continue to provide skills and development to members through local and international courses and workshops.”
Lebeya said the directorate will focus on Financial Action Task Force compliance obligations, collaboration with other agencies at national and international levels, and investigation of matters emanating from the state capture report.
TimesLIVE
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