Serious and Organised Crime in South Africa

Siân Herbert

July 2025

Question

What evidence is there on organised crime in South Africa? Focus on:
- The main criminal markets, actors, and the dynamics —including any relevant
regional dynamics or impacts specifically on the UK; and
- The impact of the criminality/level of harm, and what activities have been
conducted to specifically disrupt organised crime?

Summary

This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the main serious and organised crime (SOC) markets, actors, and dynamics in South Africa.

It particularly draws on literature from think tanks and practitioner sources, due to the applied nature of the question and its proximity to foreign policy and security interests, as well as academic and policy sources.

Literature and data are limited by the illicit nature of the subject. Due to the limited timeframe for this work, this rapid literature review is illustrative of the main issues and is not comprehensive.