Everyone knows that there’s massive trouble brewing in the battle for control of the Cape Town underworld, as well as battles in Jozi, but it seems there is confusion over exactly what these turf wars are about.

In an extensive exclusive, News24 has laid bare how and why three distinct groups are at war, and how it has led to ” a rising body count in both cities, service delivery protests, looting and fears that there is more to come”.

Those three groups are “the illegal cigarette and drug players from Johannesburg, the established Cape Town gang bosses and the new group from Cape Town, all trying to wrestle for control of drugs, cigarettes and nightclub protection in the two provinces”.

The shootings at a few Cape Town clubs is a result of a war over control at the door, where controlling the security and bouncers at the club means offering protection from rival gangs and control over drug dealers.

Apparently the Cape Town wars originated in Jozi:

…the Cape Town takeover originated from Johannesburg gangsters who have been setting up a double network in the illegal tobacco and drugs trade…

Instead of a violent battle for control of the City of Gold, the illicit tobacco traders who had long ago infiltrated politicians, intelligence and police communities, quietly gained the upper hand and conducted deals securing relationships with their drug-smuggling counterparts…

These state and gang links have cropped up in the Western Cape takeover where it is believed the shift in nightclub security has been orchestrated by police and informants to try and take down established underworld players.

The State Security Agency (SSA) has denied this, however the rumours of links to police, the Hawks and crime intelligence have persisted…

The illicit cigarette trade is so lucrative that those having success are now diversifying:

…the illicit cigarette trade, an industry where cash is easy to come by and there are few repercussions if caught, has been so successful in the past three years that the owners of some of the companies have diversified into the drug trade and have been recruiting well-known gangsters to offer them protection.

A muscle recruitment drive in the past few months, from areas such as Eldorado Park and Westbury, has led to shootings in those areas which have not been as publicly reported on as the shootings in Cape Town.

The established Cape Town gangs were also represented in these areas, adding to the turmoil.

“In areas like Westbury and Riverlea there have been a number of shootings. Between Monday and Friday last week there were at least 17,” said one source.

Protests in areas like Eldorado Park might appear to be about poor service delivery but that’s not exactly the case:

A source said that “service delivery” protests presently rocking Eldorado Park, which have seen shops burnt and looted, have been fed by this underworld war.

“About five percent of this protest is actually about service delivery complaints. It is essentially a show of force in this gang war,” the source said…

While these cigarette traders have been successful over most of the country, the one area they had not successfully infiltrated, because of the established gang networks, has been the Western Cape.

“They are [flush] with cash and decided to increase their distribution network by trying to take over the drug and illegal cigarette market in Cape Town,” said one source with knowledge of the industry.

They did this by cutting the prices of drugs and cigarettes in the Western Cape and getting the traditionally close 26s and 28s gangs to start fighting each other.

“It’s the age old divide and conquer strategy,” another source said.

Smoking kills, especially when you’re dealing with violent gangs trying to wrest control over the industry with brute force.

The war has also seen a massive influx of drugs into the market, especially heroin.

A word of warning to finish:

Word on the ground is that the Cape Town gangs are planning a revenge attack on the Johannesburg group and plans are afoot for them to make their way north and take over Johannesburg’s underworld.

“Stand by; bodies are about to pile up.”

Think I might just smash a braai at home…

[source:news24]