Cape Town - The SA Police's anti-gang unit (AGU) on Friday received about 50 brand new high-performance vehicles during its launch in Hanover Park, Cape Town.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Police Minister Bheki Cele formally launched the AGU in an effort to disorganise and disable the criminal economy linked to gangsterism, including drug and firearm supply lines in Hanover Park and other surrounding areas which have been reportedly affected by gang activities.
The unit has been in operation since October, deployed in the Nyanga, Bonteheuwel and Bishop Lavis clusters in the Western Cape Province.
According to Ramaphosa, the AGU is a national competency which will also be rolled out to Gauteng and the Eastern Cape Province and wherever the need exists.
“This is a fantastic day, it is a day of great activity and a great demonstration of what we are going to do to go after the gangsters. Now, as we receive these cars and hand them over, these are high-performance cars that are meant to go after the gangsters, they are going to give capacity to our police officers to be there among our people to walk the streets, to drive around and to chase gangsters,” Ramaphosa said as he handed over the keys.
Hundreds of police officers arriving in Hanover Park for the official launch of the Gang Unit by President Ramaphosa. Video: Henk Kruger / African News Agency (ANA)
“So this is fantastic, this is a new beginning for the people of Hanover Park and a number of other areas. This is when the government really works to deliver services to our people.”