Agents in the SAPS’ Crime Intelligence division have, in the past 18 months, lost nearly all ability to live-monitor cellphones of SA’s most dangerous criminals, including cash-in-transit robbers, because of, among other things, a shortage of designated officers needed to sign off on critical approvals.
A TimesLIVE Premium investigation into SA’s cash heist scourge, based on data from the SAPS crime analysis system, internal emails and police sources, reveals that by February 2021 major “problems” had been occurring in the interception of criminals’ phone calls where they talk about heists, murdering witnesses, hijackings and the location of weapons caches, safe houses and stolen money.
Sources say 90% of the police successes follow from information gained from interceptions.
While a Constitutional Court ruling in February 2021 on the unconstitutionality of parts of the Regulation of Interception of Communication Act (Rica), which saw rogue crime intelligence agents abuse Act 70 applications (live cellphone interceptions), forced SAPS management to overhaul interception approval requirements, police sources say the interception crisis has worsened since the end of April 2022. Rica governs Act 70 applications.
Crime Intelligence sources claim the crisis worsened after now retired Lt-Gen Liziwe Evelyn Ntshinga, who was the acting Crime Intelligence division commissioner, allegedly embarked on a go-slow in signing off on Act 70 approvals.
The go-slow is allegedly linked to the firing of former national police commissioner Khehla Sitole in February, where sources claim her loyalties lay.
While Ntshinga vehemently denies claims that she embarked on a go-slow, she was unable to tell TimesLIVE Investigations how many applications she had signed off on since her appointment in September 2021 and in particular from May.
Ntshinga was appointed deputy national commissioner responsible for crime detection by Sitole after the death of then commander Lt-Gen Sindile Mfazi in July 2021.
Her responsibilities included overseeing Crime Intelligence.
The lack of officers to sign off on Act 70s and Ntshinga’s alleged go-slow, combined with first the taxing and then the stopping of informants’ payments; the inspector-general of intelligence impounding sophisticated 5G cellphone tracking devices, whose procurement was allegedly corrupt; and issues around poorly equipped specialised units such as the Special Task Force and air wing, have ensured police’s hands are virtually tied when combating cash-in-transit robbers.
Though, ultimately needing approval from a judge heading the office of interception centre, for applications to reach the centre, the Crime Intelligence divisional commissioner must first approve them.
The result has been that since end of 2020 SA’s cash-in-transit security fleets have been under sustained attack at unprecedented high levels with limited ability for police to detect heists before they happen.
In releasing the latest crime statistics, police minister Bheki Cele revealed that in the 2021/22 financial year April and June period there were 46 cash-in-transit heists.
For the same period for the 2020/21 financial year there were 19 heists, while in the 2019/20 April to June period there were 39 heists.
The result has been that since the end of 2020 South Africa's cash-in-transit security fleets have been under sustained attack at unprecedented high levels with limited ability for police to detect heists before they happen.
Police stats show in the past five financial years, the 2021/22 financial year has had the second highest number of cash-in-transit robberies with 211. The financial year with the highest number of heists was the 2017/18 financial year with 238.
In the 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years there were 183, 164 and 190 heists respectively.
Analysis of police data files seen by TimesLIVE Investigations showed 21 more successful heists were committed in 2021 compared with 2020.
Since last week Wednesday, nine cash heists have occurred.
The latest occurred on Friday morning on the Golden Highway outside Soweto, Johannesburg, where a G4S van was blown up and two guards injured, and in Kimberley, Northern Cape, where an SBV guard was killed and another injured.
Last week CIT robbers attacked cash vans in Grabouw, Western Cape; KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal; Randfontein, West Rand; Alice, Eastern Cape; Thohoyandou, Limpopo and Rustenburg, North West. Four guards were injured.
On Friday nine would-be robbers were arrested after a tip-off that they were to attack a cash van in Mpumalanga.
Only one suspect, Njabulo Ncwane, has been arrested for the attack in KwaDukuza. He is due in Durban magistrate’s court this week on charges of armed robbery, illegal possession of explosives, attempted murder and malicious damage to property.
The Crime Intelligence staffing crisis
An internal email between provincial Crime Intelligence officers shows that from at least February 2021 major “difficulties” have been encountered in getting interceptions approved by those working in the national Crime Intelligence division.
On February 23 2021, Lt-Col Lucas Mahwayi of the Northern Cape Crime Intelligence office, who was seconded to the national Crime Intelligence office, wrote in an email titled Feedback for Applications for Act 70: “I guess most of you must be wandering that you are not getting feedback to some of the Act 70 applications which have sent for processing [sic].
“There have been challenges which this office encountered. This office does not have enough personnel to attend to the applications which are being sent. I was asked to come and assist.”
He uses the email to highlight the urgent need for the tightening up of requirements for Act 70 approvals.
Applications must be submitted by an officer’s provincial unit commander, then to the SAPS legal services for approval and then on to the national Crime Intelligence division.
They must contain an affidavit by an investigator, verified data linking cellphones to suspects and crime scenes, evidence of suspects either conspiring to commit crimes or being involved in crimes, and information on suspected criminals’ profiles, including addresses.
Judicially approved applications become court orders which compel network providers to allow police to listen into live calls for 90 consecutive days. They also allow the live tracking of cellphones.
Informant taxations
TimesLIVE Investigations has discovered that as well as a backlog in Act 70 applications, police management has also failed to pay thousands of informants.
Crime Intelligence sources say informants are collectively owed nearly R20m countrywide, with vital tip-offs rapidly dwindling because of the nonpayments.
Tying crime investigators hands tighter is that Sitole, shortly before his firing, issued instructions for informants’ payments to be taxed between 25% and 33.3%.
TimesLIVE Premium has seen the instruction issued by the SAPS financial office.
The cost of the taxes was added onto informants’ reward amounts, which sources say has led to the ballooning of the often-exploited Crime Intelligence informant budget.
Informant payments vary between R5,000 and R20,000.
TimesLIVE Investigations has been reliably informed at least 400 applications have gathered dust in Ntshinga’s former Pretoria office.
A national Crime Intelligence source said: “On average, before the problems began, at least 10 new applications a month would be approved. This did not include the dozens and dozens of applications submitted for renewals every month.”
He said since Ntshinga’s go-slow has had the approval of new and renewal applications “drying up to less than a trickle”.
He said initially, after Ntshinga’s appointment, she was fine with signing some applications.
“But when issues developed with Sitole she really dug in her heels. After his dismissal SAPS legal services took her on and said she had authority to sign, but she said it was only Sitole who could give her the authority.
“She also defied [newly appointed national police commissioner Fanie] Masemola’s instructions by going on a go-slow.”
“There is word [that] instructions will soon be issued for applications to be resubmitted, but the problem is that by now so much intelligence has already been lost.”
He said the situation had become so bad that provincial Crime Intelligence heads had demanded an intervention from the national commissioner.
“The impact of the lack of interceptions is seen last week with all the attacks and bombings of cash vans. The KwaDukuza bombing was likely by a group who bombed a van in Newcastle in KZN in May.
“The problem is without the interceptions their involvement cannot be proved even though the attack bears their signatures. If the interceptions were authorised the attacks could have been stopped.”
The impact of the lack of interceptions is seen last week with all the attacks and bombings of cash vans. The KwaDukuza bombing was likely by a group who bombed a van in Newcastle in KZN in May.
He claimed hundreds of applications were waiting to be signed while heist suspects ran rampant.
“The SAPS have lost volumes of intelligence on planned and committed crimes, including details on location of weapons, safe houses, hijacked vehicles, stolen money and links to masterminds and benefactors.
“This doesn’t just affect heist investigations. It is every single kind of crime investigation which requires a wiretap. Every province is affected. Crime Intelligence has been trying to keep this under wraps, but it has gone too far to continue.”
A Gauteng organised crime detective said the lack of approvals had blinded them.
“It is insane. One minute we knew what was going on, the next we are in the dark.
“We had great successes like the bust on the Rosettenville cash heist robbers’ safe house in February, where eight were killed. That came largely from line interceptions and informants. Since April though the successes have been drying up.”
He said seven applications he had helped submit were yet to be approved.
“These are for hardened criminals, including cop killers. You would think the top brass would want these people caught. ”
A national organised crime detective said they had been assured the backlogs would be addressed once Ntshinga’s replacement was in place.
“Though a case is not built entirely on Act 70s, they are critical to an investigation, especially when it comes to stopping a crime before it is committed.
“The lack of approvals means many of us have had to use unorthodox means to try link suspects. It is not ideal, but we have no other choice if we are to catch criminals.”
The wire
A KZN Crime Intelligence agent said their intel supply was also rapidly drying up.
He said before April they were listening on up to 40 lines obtaining information on gun runners, murderers, hijackers, house robbers, ATM bombers, corrupt police, prosecutors and magistrates and heist suspects.
“These interceptions have now expired and cannot be renewed. The information we were obtaining has been lost. To successfully investigate and stop cash heist suspects you rely heavily on interceptions.
“Without interceptions, which also include the tracking of cellphones, the only available information source is informants. With their payments taxed and now stopped they no longer provide information.”
He said also the province’s only cellphone signal grabber, which was only 2G-capable, had been broken since March.
“If we need one we have to borrow from Mpumalanga, which along with Gauteng, Eastern Cape and us, is the Wild West for heists. Every province only has 2G-capable grabbers.
“The police have 5G grabbers in a warehouse, but because of the corruption scandal involving Sitole and this equipment, the inspector-general of intelligence barred their use. The impact is there. In June we had five heists in two days.”
In the air
He said the SAPS air wing unit in the province, vital to tracking cash-in-transit robbers in high-speed chases especially at night, had been rendered almost redundant because of the lack of crews’ night ratings and helicopter surveillance equipment.
“Most heists in the province occur between 6pm and 8pm. By 4pm the helicopter crew tell us they are heading back to base. If they operate in very remote rural areas they call it quits even earlier.”
On the ground
“The Special Task Force guys, who we rely on heavily, have inadequate radio communication equipment. In provinces like KZN, which has vast rural area, their line-of-sight radio systems are useless. They only have fixed radio repeaters for long-distance communication and not mobile repeaters which are required for fluid, fast-moving scenes spread out over vast distances.
“It is so bad that members from other units, who rely on them to help combat heists, have privately sourced decent radio systems so they can help on operations.”
Independent Policing Union of SA secretary-general Mpho Kwinika confirmed a “huge” Act 70 application backlog existed.
“This, coupled with first Sitole’s instruction for the taxing of informants’ payments and then the payments halting, has impacted the fight against crime.
“Ntshinga apparently tried to claim she was not approving applications because they were being abused for nefarious purposes. There was some truth to this, but the vast majority were genuine.
“Instead of putting in proper checks and balances and roping in the inspector-general of intelligence to be an extra pair of eyes over the applications, there was just a blanket ban. The results are the current spikes in cash heists.”
The denial, no comment and no response
Ntshinga said: “I did the approvals. I am not aware of this [allegations]. I have never been reluctant to do this [approvals].”
Asked how many applications she had signed off from the time of her appointment to the time she retired, Ntshinga said: “I cannot remember.”
Approached again for comment on the claims she had embarked on a go-slow over her alleged loyalty to Sitole, she said: “I am not going to respond. I have replied. I have nothing to do with the SAPS issues any more. I don’t want to respond to anything now.”
Sitole failed to respond to questions SMSed and WhatsApped to different cellphone numbers listed in his name.
Police spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe, responding to questions on the backlog of applications, the taxing and halting of informant payments, and the SAPS’s inability to monitor criminals calls, said: “Due to the sensitivity of the environment and the nature of the questions posed, which infringe on operational environments, the SAPS is not in a position to respond.”
She also declined to comment on questions about reportedly outdated and inadequate radio communication systems used by the SAPS’s Special Task Force or on how many helicopters were equipped to fly at night and how many pilots and aircrew had their night ratings.
Mathe said the SAPS had multidisciplinary teams to prevent and combat heists.
“The team consists of members from the Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, Tactical Response Teams, Visible Policing, Crime Intelligence, the Hawks and private security.
“We work closely with the SA Banking Risk Intelligence Centre and cash security companies to prevent, combat and investigate such incidents.”
She said since February they had brought 306 cases to court, arrested 225 people and recovered 107 firearms and 108 high-performance vehicles.
“We are tightening our grip in all provinces to clamp down on heists.”
