Human trafficking, cybercrime, drug routes and wildlife poaching are surging as South Africa becomes a regional crime hub
South Africa is facing a deepening crisis of organised crime, with networks operating across human trafficking, drug and wildlife markets, cybercrime and illicit trade, according to the 2025 Africa Organised Crime Index.
It ranks South Africa first among 13 Southern African nations on its criminality score and second among 54 countries on the continent, scoring 7.43 out of 10.
On resilience, the country measures 5.67 — the highest in the Southern African region and third-highest in Africa.
The index, published by the European Union-funded Enact programme — run by the Institute for Security Studies, Interpol and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime — paints a picture of a country at the epicentre of multiple criminal networks, both domestic and international.
South Africa remains a “source, transit and destination hub” for human trafficking, with sex trafficking, child labour, domestic servitude and labour exploitation – particularly in farming and mining – still entrenched, the report said.
“Vulnerable groups, including young girls, LGBTQI+ people and migrants, are most at risk, often trapped through fake job offers or personal opportunities. Law enforcement and immigration officials have been implicated in facilitating trafficking operations, either through direct involvement or by turning a blind eye.”
Human smuggling is prevalent, with criminal networks moving migrants from the Horn of Africa and East Africa through Dar es Salaam and Maputo, funnelling them into South Africa.
Gauteng is emerging as a primary hub.
“Reports have emerged of violence against migrants in areas such as Johannesburg and Beitbridge, including incidents of aggression and even fatalities at the hands of local residents.”
Extortion and protection racketeering have become some of the fastest-growing forms of organised crime, spreading from cities into smaller towns and rural areas. Affected sectors range from construction and mining to retail, transport, and even public services such as water and waste management.
“It has also become more entrenched and violent, often involving heavily armed groups and ties to other crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnappings, cybercrime and assassinations,” the report said.
Entrenched extortion
Organised criminal groups, mainly domestic but sometimes supported by foreign actors, operate in mafia-like structures, “forming sub-gangs and building connections with public officials and private sector individuals”.
Extortion is so entrenched that many businesses now treat it as a regular operating expense, while victims, both local and foreign, often stay silent out of fear.
Firearms feed much of the country’s violence, smuggled from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Lesotho, or stolen from civilians, private security firms and law enforcement agencies.
“Corrupt elements in law enforcement have also supplied firearms to criminal groups, fuelling targeted assassinations, gang warfare and cash-in-transit robberies.”
The illegal counterfeit goods market thrives despite occasional seizures, thanks to weak border enforcement and cross-border networks. Johannesburg is a major distribution hub, with corruption at ports and bonded warehouses facilitating entry.
Wildlife under siege
Flora crimes are on the rise, particularly the illegal trade of succulents and cycads, which are highly sought after in international markets.
“Several species have been severely depleted due to poaching, and authorities have seized millions of plants in recent years. Economically disadvantaged local communities are often recruited,” said the report.
“Smuggling networks link South Africa’s flora trade to collectors and buyers in Europe, North America and East Asia, where demand for rare plants is rising.”
The country’s wildlife is also under siege. The poaching and trafficking of rhino horns, elephant tusks, spiny lizards and lion skeletons generate substantial profits for local and foreign actors.
“Organised crime syndicates, particularly those from Southeast Asia, collaborate with domestic poachers … Many poachers become involved … due to a lack of viable income alternatives, while foreign actors are primarily profit-driven.”
Corrupt officials and game rangers facilitate the trade, which overlaps with illegal mining, cash-in-transit heists, money laundering and racketeering.
“Mafia-style groups have reportedly used violence to control abalone prices, while the broader illegal wildlife trade has been marked by violent incidents, including the targeted assassinations of rangers and conservationists.”
Despite law enforcement successes, such as the arrest of Vietnamese traffickers involved in lion bone sales, the “illicit wildlife trade remains deeply entrenched”.
Illegal mining
Illegal mining of gold, coal and diamonds fuels environmental degradation and community conflict.
“Criminal syndicates control these operations, providing protection and weaponry to illegal Zama zama miners, many of whom are undocumented migrants,” the report said.
“Zama zama syndicates increasingly target major conglomerates involved in platinum extraction. Corrupt officials and private sector actors facilitate this trade, entrenching its presence.”
Government attempts to curb these activities, including military deployments, have had limited success, as criminal networks adapt. The trafficking of explosives and chemicals, particularly mercury, occurs alongside illegal mining, worsening regulatory challenges.
“Violence frequently accompanies these activities, clashes occurring between rival groups and in communities affected by mining operations. Fuel theft is persistent … Copper theft from public infrastructure causes service disruptions, affecting power supply, freight transport and essential services.”
Key drug player
Drug markets are another critical concern. Heroin, smuggled from Afghanistan through Mozambique and Tanzania, is distributed via violent street networks. Durban and Cape Town are major hubs, and “associated gang violence has worsened in recent years”.
Cocaine shipments from South America pass through the country on their way to Europe, Asia and Australia.
“Large-scale cocaine seizures at major ports, such as Durban, highlight the country’s role in transnational drug trafficking,” said the report.
Synthetic drugs dominate the domestic scene, with methamphetamine (tik) produced locally in clandestine laboratories, especially in the Western Cape, using smuggled precursors.
“Locally produced drugs are supplemented by high-purity meth from international sources, with reports of trafficking from Southeast Asia through West Africa.”
Transnational involvement, from West Africa and Australia, “underscores the globalised nature of a market in which South Africa is a central player”.
Law enforcement has uncovered industrial-scale meth labs, including a major 2024 bust in Groblersdal, Limpopo, which led to the arrest of four suspects, including two Mexican nationals.
New psychoactive substances, including synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones (bath salts), are often manufactured abroad, particularly in China, and trafficked via postal and courier services.
Entrenched mafias
Cybercrime is surging, with ransomware attacks, data breaches and AI-enhanced intrusions targeting banks, businesses and the state. Financial crimes, including cryptocurrency scams, Ponzi schemes, identity theft, and tax evasion, remain pervasive, aided by corruption and weak oversight.
Mafia-style groups have become some of the most entrenched forces in the organised crime landscape, evolving far beyond their origins as neighbourhood gangs.
“In the Western Cape, long-standing outfits such as the Americans, Hard Livings, Sexy Boys and Terrible Josters still dominate drug distribution and extortion rackets.”
Their reach has become more sophisticated, now extending into legal industries, from construction and retail to hospitality and nightlife.
One of the most disruptive developments has been the rise of the construction mafia — groups that present themselves as community organisations but use threats, violence and forced partnerships to capture a share of significant building projects.
The report said their presence has derailed timelines, inflated costs and shaken investor confidence, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Reports of officers tipping off gang leaders, supplying state-owned firearms or participating directly in extortion schemes have become “alarmingly routine”.
The spread of untraceable guns is fuelling rising levels of violence in Cape Town and Durban, where heavily armed groups routinely outgun police.
Alongside these mafia-style structures are fluid criminal networks that operate across multiple illicit markets. They dominate drug trafficking, arms smuggling, cybercrime, counterfeit goods and environmental crimes.
Their operations shift rapidly in response to risk and profit — one month running protection rackets in townships, the next moving hijacked vehicles or organising cash-in-transit heists.
State-embedded criminality
A wide cast of foreign criminal actors have been drawn into South Africa’s role as a regional hub.
Nigerian groups are active in drug trafficking and financial scams; Eastern European syndicates – from Serbia to Kosovo – resurface around cocaine distribution and money laundering; Chinese networks play major roles in copper theft, wildlife trafficking and illicit financial flows.
Zimbabwean groups dominate tobacco smuggling, Mozambican syndicates drive high-profile kidnappings, and Ethiopian and Bangladeshi networks facilitate human smuggling.
The report said that state-embedded criminality remains one of the most dangerous dimensions.
“Corruption at municipal level – where procurement decisions, land use and service contracts can be extremely lucrative – has given criminal actors direct influence over state resources.”
Politically motivated killings have become a grim fixture of local politics, often linked to battles over tenders, party positions or municipal budgets, the report said.
“The taxi industry, long marred by corruption and violence, provides another window into how political interests, criminal networks and state officials become entangled.”
Private-sector complicity adds another layer. Illicit gold and copper supply chains often rely on scrap dealers and exporters to launder stolen or illegally mined materials. Large-scale financial crimes, from tobacco tax evasion to Ponzi schemes and procurement fraud, continue to siphon billions from the formal economy.
The report noted, too, how South Africa has a robust legal framework to combat organised crime, including laws targeting corruption, money laundering, gang activity and cybercrime; however, the main challenge lies in implementation.