Need to beef up crime intelligence at OR Tambo airport: DA

30 July 2018 - 14:46 By Zimasa Matiwane
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
DA shadow minister of police Zakhele Mbhele said there was inadequate crime intelligence at OR Tambo International Airport.
DA shadow minister of police Zakhele Mbhele said there was inadequate crime intelligence at OR Tambo International Airport.
Image: Jeffrey Greenberg/ Getty Images

The police’s efforts to make OR Tambo International Airport a crime-free zone have yielded results but more still needs to be done to intercept criminal syndicates operating in and around the national key point‚ DA shadow minister of police Zakhele Mbhele says.

Mbhele conducted an oversight visit at South Africa’s busiest airport on Monday‚ a year after then national police minister Fikile Mbalula intervened by implementing the Integrated Multi-Disciplinary Tactical Security Plan following a brazen crime wave.

“The incidents of crime have been reduced but there are still challenges. There is understaffing of the police‚ manpower needs to be beefed up to operate better despite improvement‚” he said.

However‚ Mbhele said there was inadequate crime intelligence to combat the most serious of criminal activity‚ organised crime including passport fraud‚ drug trafficking‚ violent crimes‚ and theft from luggage.

“There is a need for crime intelligence to be beefed up‚ in particular because we were told that the officer in charge of crime intelligence at the airport is not permanently stationed at the airport. He has only been placed here temporarily.

“We need permanent appointments for stability and certainty so that expert knowledge and understanding can be built up in this specialised environment‚” he added.

Mbhele said better resourcing and equipping of crime intelligence could inform intelligence-led operations that identify‚ infiltrate and ultimately neutralise the syndicates that operate in and around the airport.

He said there were also improvements in catching drug mules‚ but added that was not enough as those were just the lowest operatives in drug trade and the nabbing of kingpins was still lacking.

“The biggest security risk factor in the airport environment is collusion among corrupt elements in the different departments and agencies operating within the airport.

"The syndicate networks exist with corrupt officials in that space to make organised crime possible. If they can crack and neutralise these networks‚ that would take care of the problem once and for all‚” he added.


READ MORE: 

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now