The feared Sexy Boys gang, which ruled Belhar with terror for years, appears to have been destroyed by the forces of the law.
The Scorpions and the Cape courts have put almost the entire gang leadership behind bars for many years, in a process that raises hope that the reign of the Cape Flats gangs can be toppled.
Most of the leaders have been convicted of crimes such as murder and armed robbery in the past 12 months, after targeting people in their areas who resisted their actions.
Last Thursday, Sexy Boys leader Michael Booysen and two of his henchmen, Ricardo Wepener and Peter Paulsen, were sentenced to life terms by Mr Justice Hennie Erasmus in the Cape High Court.
It was the first time Booysen had been convicted and sentenced, but he is awaiting trial on other cases after allegedly sowing mayhem in Belhar over the past few years.
The trio were found guilty of murdering Jason Idas in Chestnut Place on June 21, 1999.
They were also convicted of attempted murder and illegal possession of guns and ammunition.
Idas was shot 13 times while he and his friends stood around a fire at Chestnut Place.
Then on October 14, 1999, police found a cache of firearms and ammunition in a Bellville South shack. Some of the guns were linked to the attack on Idas.
Booysen and Wepener's sentences add up to life plus 25 years. Paulsen was sentenced to life plus 15 years.
Wepener is already serving a life term for the murder of Eugene Brown, and Paulsen is serving a 10-year sentence for the murder of Angelo Petersen.
Both murders were committed in Chestnut Place in June 1999.
In October, Wepener was sentenced to life imprisonment and a further 88 years for 12 crimes including murder, attempted murder and other serious offences. But Mr Justice Nathan Erasmus suspended part of Wepener's term, so prison time totalled life and 39 years.
Another top-ranker, Dino Daniels, was sentenced to life and 35 years in jail for murder, attempted murder and other serious crimes, and Shorsham Bowman was jailed for 15 years for murder and attempted murder.
Last July, Sexy Boys hitman Christie Manuel, 25, was jailed for 34 years for two murders, one that of African National Congress member Oesman Cassiem in July 1998.
Police said at the weekend that the leadership had "fallen" and the gang appeared to have broken up, and Jenny Idas, whose son Jason was gunned down at 17 by Booysen and his henchmen, agreed with them.
Idas said: "My son died for a good cause, now the children can play, the youth can feel free and the people's lives are back to normal.
"Children can play without fear on the steps and in the courtyards."
Victims and magistrates have praised Scorpions investigators Allan Williams, Jannie Staniadis and Roberta Ruiters, and Scorpions advocates Suad Jacobs and Hailey Slingers, for the way in which they handled the cases.
Belhar/Delft police Captain Joe Wilson said Belhar had returned to normal now that the leadership was behind bars.
A decade ago, Jerome and Michael Booysen, Ricardo Wepener, Peter Paulsen, Dino Daniels and others started a taxi business in Belhar.
With the help of the others, the Booysen brothers had several taxis operating throughout the area and business was good.
But things went horribly wrong when the men became involved in a conflict with the 28s gang, who demanded protection money.
The Booysens and their friends then formed the Sexy Boys, based in Chestnut Place, a residential area.
Because the 28s violently opposed them, the Sexy Boys allied themselves with the 26s gang to seek greater protection.
They in turn demanded money from the 28s gang, and the conflict expanded and raged on for years.
Provincial justice director Hishaam Mohammed said it was great co-ordination between the Scorpions and the justice department that led to solving the cases.