From the news desk

Staggie arrest ‘linked to internal gang warfare

Share this article

Former Hard Livings (HL) gang boss Rashied Staggie’s recent arrest is related to internal battles for control, rebuilding, rearming and reclaiming gang territories on the Cape Flats, says a criminologist.

Staggie was arrested on Thursday after being linked to theft of firearms and contraband at the Cleveland police station in Johannesburg..

He and three others are due to appear in court on Monday.

Gang expert Don Pinnock, who interviewed Staggie extensively while he was inside and outside prison, said Staggie is involved in an internal battle for control of the HL gang, which has sparked ongoing gang wars in areas along the Cape Flats.

Pinnock said the HL gang is trying to reclaim territory in Manenberg and have been at war with the Americans and Mongrels for drug turf since Staggie’s release in 2014.

Pinnock said younger HL gangsters were vying for leadership of the gang.

While Staggie was in prison there was a battle for leadership, which led to them losing control in a number of areas.

Staggie served 11 years in prison and has been on full parole since September 2014.

When Staggie was on the verge of being released, some of the new leaders, apparently fearful of what Staggie would do to them, “defected” to the Americans.

“A battle for the HL’s leadership started at the same time and all of this has caused massive flare-ups on the Cape Flats, much like the recent gang war in Manenberg,” he said.

Staggie and three other men have been charged with unlawful possession of firearms, illegal possession of ammunition, and possession of suspected stolen property after being arrested by the Hawks’ narcotics unit on the N1 route near Canal Walk.

Three handguns, several boxes of expensive whiskey and cigars all worth millions of rand were found in their possession.

 

[Source: Cape Times]
Share this article

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

WhatsApp WhatsApp us
Wait a sec, saving restore vars.