Johannesburg - Police in the UK are investigating links to a South African gang possibly operating in Birmingham.
A group of men, claiming to be members of a local gang posted four videos in which they allegedly threatened to murder the parents of an apparent rival in that city. In one of the videos, a man with a handgun talks into the camera while apparently outside the parents' home.
Police in SA have been unable to confirm the authenticity of the videos and the threats but UK police in the West Midlands are looking into the matter.
In the videos, five masked gang members are seen making threats to the target. One of the men says: “Let me tell you something about us here in South Africa man. We don't play, we kill. You think we can't get you...? Even in England we can get you my man.”
He continues saying the target has been talking about the gang's members in England. He adds: “We gonna kill you.”
In another video, the gang members show a cellphone footage of a video seemingly taken near a Birmingham house, and one of the men says: “This is your mother and father's house.”
He adds that if the target crosses them again, “we gonna go and kill you... your mother and father. This is how we do it my man. Don't play with us”.
In a separate video, where the gunman says he is outside the parent's home, he says to the gang leader: “Yo bro I'm here. Just waiting for your green light to knock on the door and light up whoever it is.”
Video footage of a named Birmingham road is shown in another video, with what appears to be the gunman's car driving up to a property.
British media have not named the road or the area of Birmingham concerned. But it’s understood there was no evidence of any South African gang presence in Birmingham.
A statement said: “We’ve been made aware of the videos and are making enquiries in a bid to try and identify the source to understand and mitigate any potential threat.”