
Foreign national arrested with R1 million and stolen bank cards
According to South African Police Service, members of the Provincial Operational Command Centre arrested the suspect.
Western Cape provincial police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk said officers acted on drug-related information and raided a residence in Holly Crescent, Table View.
During the search, officers discovered more than R1 million in foreign and South African currency, along with a bag containing bank cards belonging to various individuals.
The occupants of the house failed to provide a legitimate reason for being in possession of the cash and bank cards.
'The occupants of the residence failed to give a valid reason for possessing the items. Officers arrested the 38-year-old suspect on suspicion of possessing suspected stolen property and conspiring to commit cybercrime,' said Van Wyk.
The suspect will appear in the Cape Town Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 15 May 2025.
Detectives from the Provincial Organised Crime, Commercial Unit, are investigating and may file additional charges as the case develops.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Thin (blue) line of policing
With rising crime and falling arrests, experts say political interference has gutted effective policing in South Africa. South Africa's police serves the ANC insiders, not the people – and a politicised leadership has effectively stopped policing various categories of crime, including fraud, corruption, and certain types of theft involving politically connected people, two researchers have warned. Writing in The Conversation, University of Pretoria Prof Ivor Chipkin said collaborative research he has done with Jelena Vidojević, cofounder of the New South Institute, has made it 'clear that elite contestation in the ANC is intensifying'. Chipkin detailed how 'police resources were redirected as weapons of elite competition, pursuing political enemies and protecting allies in the ruling party'. Police a tool for ANC insiders – researchers He added: 'As the ability of some political elites to access state resources through the party declines, some are linked with organised criminal networks. 'Organised crime has been on the edges of South African politics. It now risks taking a more central role.' ALSO READ: Parties question ANC MP's election in Mkhwanazi ad hoc committee, logistics concerns raised In this environment, 'the police service will often be the thin (blue) line between multiparty contestation according to constitutional rules and the criminalisation of politics in South Africa'. Large organisational changes within the police vividly illustrate this shift away from its core function. The visible policing programme was meant to meant to deter crime through patrols, checkpoints and roadblocks. Steady decline in resource allocation But, instead, there was a steady decline in resource allocation. Employee numbers dropped between 2015 and 2021. Detective services and crime intelligence also experienced such declines. ALSO READ: Femicide horror as EC man kills wife and ex-girlfriend Conversely, employee numbers in the protection and security services programme, responsible for providing bodyguards to politicians, increased sharply between 2014 and 2016. This reorientation of resources coincided with a rise in crime across the country, a decline in arrests by 24.5%, and a drop in the police's efficacy in solving crimes. Chipkin said if the claims made last month by KwaZulu-Natal high police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi – which implicated the 'on leave' police minister Senzo Mchunu, together with the deputy national commissioner for crime detection, Lieut-General Shadrack Sibiya, in a scheme to close down investigations into political assassinations in the province – were true, then 'political policing remains entrenched'. Mkhwanazi-Mchunu debacle The appointment by President Cyril Ramaphosa of Firoz Cachalia – a long-serving ANC loyalist – as the acting police minister, 'raises serious questions'. He wrote: 'If the core problem with the police is that it has become embroiled in ANC internal politics, having an ANC insider head the department of police (even if only on an acting basis) threatens to only compound the problem.' ALSO READ: Four alleged criminals shot during foiled Randfontein robbery South Africans have already witnessed a long and expensive judicial inquiry into state capture. And despite extensive evidence of police failure to pursue politically sensitive investigations, nothing concrete has come of it. 'How likely is it that this new initiative will be any different, especially if those investigating it and presiding over key institutions are themselves ANC insiders?' Chipkin observed that 'the ability of internal party structures to manage gatekeeping is declining. Many of the people involved are indifferent or even hostile to South Africa's democratic and constitutional order.' 'Depoliticise the police service' What is needed, he suggested, was 'to depoliticise the police service and redirect its attention and activities towards crime and emergencies. A crucial first step is to reconsider the appointment processes for the national police commissioner and other managers'. 'Under the current system, the president has sole discretion. This bakes party-political considerations into the decision-making process.' ALSO READ: Malema declines nomination to chair ad hoc committee probing Mkhwanazi's claims His sombre conclusion: 'Without structural changes, genuine democratic policing will be an elusive ideal.'


The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Bring order to law and order
Researchers have made some sobering observations about just how bad political interference in policing has become. While there is still a long way to go before the claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi are verified, he has opened the eyes of South Africans to how the world works under the ANC. That reality is that the South African Police Service serves and protects the ANC – or, more correctly, it protects one faction against the other in the ongoing and increasingly nasty fights within the party to get close to the feeding trough. Researchers Ivor Chipkin and Jelena Vidojević make some sobering observations today about just how bad it has become. Many of us have suspected this for a long time, but Mkhwanazi's accusations – about the involvement of top political figures in the world of organised crime – have focused our attention. The researchers say the police leadership has effectively stopped policing certain categories of crime – the ones their political comrades are involved in. Police resources are also being 'actively redirected as weapons of elite competition, pursuing political enemies and protecting allies within the ruling party'. ALSO READ: Malema declines nomination to chair ad hoc committee probing Mkhwanazi's claims While on-the-ground policing has been reduced, VIP protection has ballooned, indicating the level that the ANC's bigwigs believe they are threatened. The appointment by President Cyril Ramaphosa of Firoz Cachalia – a long-serving ANC loyalist – as the acting minister of police, they say, 'raises serious questions'. Chipkin notes: 'If the core problem with the police is that it has become embroiled in ANC internal politics, having an ANC insider head the department of police (even if only on an acting basis) threatens to compound the problem.' Ramaphosa needs to implement changes – and quickly. All police appointments need to be overseen by an independent body, including the minister at the top. We have to bring order to law and order.

IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Criminals Next Door: South Africa raises alarm over United States deportees housed in eSwatini
President Cyril Ramaphosa in a handshake King Mswati III Image: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS The South African government has raised 'deep concern' following the recent arrival of convicted criminals deported from the United States in the neighbouring Kingdom of eSwatini. 'South Africa is deeply concerned about the profile of these individuals and the potential adverse impact on South Africa's national security and immigration policy, given the geographical proximity between the two sisterly countries,' said Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for Minister of International Relations, Ronald Lamola. Phiri said South Africa has raised concerns with the Kingdom of Eswatini following confirmation by the acting spokesperson of the government, Thabile Mdluli, that the group of dangerous criminals of various nationalities landed in eSwatini. The United States sent five men it describes as 'barbaric' criminals to the neighbouring Kingdom of eSwatini. Image: X The convicted criminals were transported from the United States of America on a special flight, with the potential of more criminals of similar profiles scheduled to follow. Their arrival was also followed by an announcement from the United States' Department of Homeland Security indicating that this group of individuals from several countries, and some of whom have been convicted of serious crimes, have been deported to eSwatini. 'Dirco, on behalf of the government of the Republic of South Africa, noted the aforementioned statement wherein Eswatini and the USA indicated that they would collaborate with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to facilitate the transit of these inmates to their countries of origin,' said Phiri. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirso) also noted that the countries of origin of these deportees are unlikely to receive them. 'Whilst respecting the sovereign decision of the government of eSwatini, the government of the Republic of South Africa is deeply concerned about the profile of these individuals and the potential adverse impact on South Africa's national security and immigration policy, given the geographical proximity between the two sisterly countries,' said Phiri. Last week, IOL reported that seasoned Eswatini human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi has launched a High Court bid to gain access to five "dangerous" convicted criminals deported to the African nation from the United States. Nhlabatsi is challenging the prison authorities' refusal to allow him to meet and consult with the detained men. According to media reports, the deported men intend to challenge their presence in eSwatini. IOL previously reported that the deportation of the five hardened criminals, a decision by US President Donald Trump's administration, reportedly took Eswatini citizens and activists by surprise and shock. Speaking to IOL on Friday, Nhlabatsi said his commentary is limited because the matter is before the courts. 'However, the core of my application is to ask the court to grant me an order to access the deportees. I have been given specific instructions by three US-based attorneys who were representing them back home, and the purpose of my visit is simply to fulfill those instructions,' said Nhlabatsi. 'Last Friday, the prison authorities denied me access, citing that they were still working on facilities or gadgets that would allow the deportees to call home.' Seasoned eSwatini human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi spoke to IOL on his fight to access the criminals deported from United States. Image: Supplied Nhlabatsi argued that the actions of the eSwatini authorities were unlawful. 'In my view, this is unlawful because it denies them legal access and representation which is constitutionally guaranteed,' he said. IOL reported last week that the move has also sparked outrage in the small landlocked nation, and fears abound that the criminals may end up in South Africa. The Trump administration announced over a week ago that it would be sending the men who are illegal immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba convicted of child rape, murder, burglary, and being gang members and whose countries refuse to take them back. Speaking to IOL previously, Bheki Makhubu, editor of the monthly news magazine The Nation, said people of eSwatini feel betrayed. 'Essentially, emaSwati feel they were betrayed by the leadership of eSwatini. This move came as a complete surprise and seems to have been arranged and known by only a select few people. This deal feels like an invasion of our country by the US. We feel our leaders have sold our country to Trump behind our backs,' he said. 'This country is nobody's personal property and therefore we're upset and most importantly, afraid. There's a fear that if this is allowed to continue, and it looks like more prisoners are coming, one day we will wake up and find that we've been annexed by another country behind our backs.' Makhubu added that he understood that the dangerous criminals are set to spend only a year in eSwatini. IOL News Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.