The Prevention of Organised Crime Act (No 121 of 1998) contains far-reaching measures to deal with the problem of organised crime in South Africa. This is a summary of the main sections of the Act.

It is a crime to manage any organisation whose members are committing serious crimes.

This section is aimed at people like gang bosses who are in a position of authority over those who are committing the crimes. This can lead to a sentence of up to 30 years. It is not necessary to prove that they were directly involved in committing a specific crime.

Any person who receives or owns property from illegal activities will be guilty of an offence. The state only has to prove that they ‘ought reasonably to have known’ that the property comes from an illegal activity.

The state can seize any asset (material thing that belongs to you) that has been used to commit a crime or that has been obtained through crime.

This section allows the state to seize criminal assets without first having to find the owner guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (the normal test in a criminal case).

For example, where the state believes that drugs are being sold from a particular house, the state only has to prove that there is a 51% chance that the house is used to sell drugs. No one has to be convicted (found guilty) of drug dealing before confiscating the house. It is not necessary to prove that the owner of the house was involved in the crime or even knew about the drug dealings.

The state can confiscate assets that:

• Have been used to commit a crime, for example, a car used to transport stolen goods, a house from which drugs are sold, or a bank account used to hide dirty money
• Have been gained from the unlawful activity

The Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for carrying out the work involving seizure of assets under the Act. The Asset Forfeiture Unit works from the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Act makes it a crime to recruit members to a gang or participate in criminal gang activity.

The Act sets penalties for people like gang bosses with sentences of up to 30 years in prison or fines of R10 million rand, in addition to losing property that they have gained through gang-related activities.

Any person who promotes or helps in criminal gang activity will be liable for a sentence of up to 3 years and any person recruiting, advising or helping someone to join a gang can go to prison for 2 years.