SAPS vouches for abilities of its special task force

The SA Police Service's special task force (STF) unit which at the weekend clinched a top spot in Africa and ninth globally was a year ago responsible for arresting 87 illegal miners in North West.

In November, they also pounced on eight men who were part of the Israel-based Abergil gang in Johannesburg.

This was revealed by SAPS national spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe after the STF made the country proud at the United Arab Emirates SWAT Challenge in Dubai last week.

"The STF responds to only high risk incidents where they search and rescue missions, cash-in-transit heists, tracking and tracing of most wanted organised crime gangs, you will recall that they led the operation where eight men attached to Abergil gang were arrested at a house in Bryanston," said Mathe.

"If you look at that particular crime scene, each of those eight criminals had high calibre firearms in the rooms that they were sleeping, so you needed operators that have a specialised set of skills to apprehend those dangerous and heavily armed criminals."

"It was also the STF that was at the forefront when 87 illegal miners were arrested in Orkney, North West and many other areas that are facing illegal mining challenges."

When releasing national crime statistics earlier this month, police minister Bheki Cele said cash-in-transit heist have in the third quarter of the government's financial year dropped by 5% while robberies at non-residential premises declined by 3%.

She said the teams participate[d] in the five tests that include tactical, assaults, officer rescues, tower events and obstacle courses.

"These are not normal police officers that you would find at our police stations, so over and beyond our Basic Police training – for you to qualify as a special task force operator - there is a selection process that takes place across the country from within. Firstly you need to be a good swimmer because we do waterborne operations where we rescue people from ships, among other things.

Persons with phobias do not qualify to join the training programme.

"You can’t be in the STF and be afraid of heights, be claustrophobic and flying because at times you will be deployed operationally via parachute, abseiling with ropes at buildings," she said.

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