[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

Authorities believe two bodies that were found in the Vaal River in the Free State on Friday are those of Terrible Josters gang leader Peter Jaggers and his associate, William (Billy) Peterson, who were abducted three months ago following a botched drug deal.

The pair went missing on 30 June, a few hours after travelling from Cape Town to Gauteng where they were supposed to attend a meeting. Both men were connected to the infamous Terrible Josters gang, which operates in Kalksteenfontein and Netreg in Cape Town and is affiliated with the 28s gang.

It is believed that the two men were tortured.

Police were called to the scene by a passer-by who discovered the men and issued a statement confirming that the bodies were that of Jaggers and Petersen.

“Oranjeville police received information from a passer-by on the discovery of a body in the river at a bridge. The SAPS Diving Unit was summoned to the scene and discovered one more body a few metres away from the first one.”

Police stated that the remains were in a poor stage of decomposition and that the deceased were “estimated to be between 40 and 55 years old”. According to a preliminary investigation, the duo was handcuffed and their feet were tied together using cable ties.

They further stated that one of the victims had no teeth, but several identifying tattoos, including “Billie 08/06/2016” on his back, a cross and fire on his right lower thigh, and “Kauthew” on his left hand.

The second victim had tattoos of the words “International Crook” on his back and flames on his left leg.

Cape Town gang boss and associate found murdered nearly four months after kidnapping – sources https://t.co/1fYWnNbKYn

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 16, 2024

Jaggers and Peterson being allegedly kidnapped because of a botched drug deal involving Colombian and Bulgarian organised crime syndicates was widely reported in July. Authorities believed that a cocaine shipment, estimated to be between 500kg and 700kg, that went missing off the Western Cape coast was the reason the men were taken. Several ominous voice recordings from the kidnappers later confirmed this.

News24 reported in July that Jaggers’ group were said to be functioning as facilitators between Colombians and Bulgarians, ensuring that cocaine made its way from South America to Eastern Europe.

The consignment was supposed to arrive in South Africa during Easter Weekend, with Jaggers’ crew waiting for it some 80 nautical miles off the coast of the Western Cape, but it appears to have been lost at sea.

[source:news24]