State-embedded criminal actors continue to pose a major challenge in South Africa, where corruption permeates levels of governance.
This is according to the 2025 Africa Organised Crime Index, which measures the prevalence of organised crime and a country’s ability to respond.
The legacy of state capture and systemic graft has left many state institutions vulnerable to criminal infiltration, its researchers found.
The index assesses criminality and resilience on a scale of one to 10, examining 15 criminal markets, five criminal actor types and 12 resilience indicators across the continent. Apart from drugs, the most pervasive criminal markets are financial crimes, human trafficking, non-renewable resource crimes, the trade in counterfeit goods and arms trafficking.
The index is published by the Enact programme (Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime), run by the Institute for Security Studies, Interpol and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC).
Presenting the index report in Nairobi on Monday, Rumbi Matamba from the GI-TOC said state-embedded actors continue to be the most prevalent criminal actor category and have increased their influence by 0.65 points since 2019 in Africa and globally.
“State-embedded actor types dominate criminality across the globe. Between 2023 and 2025, the index also recorded a growth in the influence of foreign actors and private sector actors,” she said.
According to the report, in South Africa politically motivated assassinations have become a persistent feature of the criminal landscape and targeted killings are often used to secure political and economic interests.
Law enforcement agencies have also been implicated in criminal activity.
“There have been reports of police officers engaging in extortion, facilitating illicit trade and participating in corrupt dealings in the taxi industry.
The involvement of security forces in the supply of illegal firearms exacerbates violent crime, highlighting the extent to which state institutions have been compromised by criminal elements. The 2024 general election and subsequent shifts in political leadership may disrupt entrenched networks of corruption, but the long-term impact is uncertain.
— 2025 Africa Organised Crime Index
“The involvement of security forces in the supply of illegal firearms exacerbates violent crime, highlighting the extent to which state institutions have been compromised by criminal elements. The 2024 general election and subsequent shifts in political leadership may disrupt entrenched networks of corruption, but the long-term impact is uncertain,” the report noted.
It said South Africa’s organised crime landscape features significant foreign actor involvement and transnational networks play key roles in illicit markets.
“Nigerian, eastern European and Chinese criminal groups have established operations in the country, engaging in activities such as drug trafficking, financial crimes and environmental exploitation.
“Zimbabwean criminal actors have a notable presence in the illicit trade of excisable goods, particularly tobacco, and criminal networks facilitate large-scale smuggling operations.
“Chinese nationals have been implicated in financial crimes, wildlife trafficking and the illicit trade in non-renewable resources, particularly copper.”
“Mozambican groups are active in high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom cases.
“Ethiopian and Bangladeshi syndicates have been linked to human smuggling and trafficking operations.
“Serbians, Montenegrins and Kosovars are re-emerging, while notable arrests of Mexican and Colombian nationals have also been reported.
“Foreign actors frequently collaborate with local networks, leveraging their resources to expand criminal enterprises, particularly in the drug trade, financial crimes and illicit goods smuggling,” it said.
PRIVATE SECTOR ACTORS
Private sector actors are implicated in facilitating organised crime, particularly through the illicit trade of precious metals and copper and financial fraud schemes.
“Businesses involved in the gold and copper industries have been linked to illegal export schemes and scrap dealers manipulate supply chains to legitimise illicitly acquired resources.
“Financial crimes involving private sector actors are a major concern, and corporate fraud and large-scale Ponzi schemes continue to defraud investors. High-profile scandals, such as those involving major consulting firms and state capture allegations, underscore the extent to which private enterprises have been complicit in illicit financial flows. Tax evasion in the tobacco industry is widespread and companies are implicated in circumventing excise duties to maximise profits,’ the report said.
It found criminal networks are deeply entrenched in a range of illicit markets, often overlapping with mafia-style groups.
The networks are instrumental in the trafficking of drugs, arms and counterfeit goods, and engaging in cybercrime and environmental crimes. Their adaptability allows them to exploit regulatory weaknesses, enabling a high level of operational flexibility.
“Extortion is a core activity of the groups, particularly in townships, where street gangs extort formal and informal businesses. Many of the gangs also diversify into vehicle hijacking and armed robberies, reflecting the fluid nature of their operations.
“In the Western Cape, there has been a trend towards the consolidation of smaller networks into larger, more structured entities, potentially leading to increased competition and violence as groups vie for control of lucrative criminal markets.
South Africa’s criminal networks maintain strong transnational ties, particularly in the trafficking of narcotics, firearms and contraband goods.
— 2025 Africa Organised Crime Inde
“South Africa’s criminal networks maintain strong transnational ties, particularly in the trafficking of narcotics, firearms and contraband goods,” said the report.
It said the networks collaborate with foreign actors, facilitating the smuggling of illicit commodities across borders and reinforcing their influence in global criminal enterprises.
The reported noted mafia-style groups in South Africa have a longstanding presence in the organised crime landscape, particularly through entrenched street gangs, prison gangs and extortion networks which operate across illicit markets.
“Long-established gangs in the Western Cape, including the Americans, Hard Livings, Sexy Boys and Terrible Josters, dominate drug distribution and extortion rackets. The groups have expanded their activities beyond traditional strongholds, increasingly infiltrating legal businesses and the construction sector.
“The Numbers gangs, historically rooted in the prison system, maintain significant control over criminal operations from inside correctional facilities, coordinating with external networks to sustain illicit enterprises.
“Extortion has become a primary source of revenue for the groups, spreading beyond nightlife establishments to retail, hospitality and infrastructure projects.
“The influence of the actors extends to the taxi industry, where powerful associations control routes and engage in violence to maintain dominance,” it said.
According to the report, in recent years South Africa has seen a rise in construction mafia organised groups that infiltrate the construction sector through intimidation, violence and extortion to secure a share of lucrative projects.
It noted the activities have caused significant project delays, escalated costs and deterred investment in the property and infrastructure sectors.
The report indicated collusion between mafia-style actors and law enforcement, some officials allegedly facilitating criminal activities, providing protection or supplying state-owned firearms to gang members.
“The rise in gun-related violence, particularly in Cape Town and Durban, reflects the growing power of the groups and their ability to circumvent law enforcement measures.”
While the report noted South Africa’s political leadership has increasingly recognised the severity of organised crime, it said their responses are largely reactionary.
It said despite comprehensive laws and policies, such as the National Development Plan 2030 and the White Paper on Safety and Security, enforcement remains weak and while South Africa has the legislative tools needed to address organised crime, inconsistent implementation continues to undermine its effectiveness.
The report’s findings also suggest South Africa’s borders remain vulnerable, facilitating the movement of illicit goods and people, and that despite the establishment of the Border Management Authority, enforcement is weak, particularly along the borders with Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
Victim and witness support systems are inadequate, and corruption and threats of violence discourage individuals from testifying, the researchers saif.
While non-state actors, including NGOs and the media, play a crucial role in promoting accountability, the report found threats against journalists and activists have increased, particularly in response to investigative reporting on corruption. Press freedom is constitutionally protected but the report said political interference and online harassment create a challenging environment for independent media.
Mark Shaw, executive director of the GI-TOC, said the extent to which organised crime drives targeted political violence and overlaps with political interests is very clear in the economy.
“People being killed for political positions, whistleblowers are being killed, lawyers are being killed. There have not been significant Mexican-style attacks against journalists but the reality of highly organised contract killing for hire is, in my view, a destabilising factor in South Africa’s political economy. The role of people in the security institutions or ex-security institutions in this process is of great concern,” he said.
Shaw argued organised crime has become more embedded in the political economy of the continent.
“It’s more embedded in the process of politics in the main in the three big democracies. We talked about Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. In each of these states organised crime and its networks are key players.”
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