New drug & firearm units welcomed
Parliament’s portfolio committee on Thursday welcomed President Jacob Zuma’s announcement that two new specialised policing units would be established to deal with scourge of drugs and illegal firearms.
“The Committee is pleased with the President’s announcement and believes the establishment of the two specialised units will go a long way in fighting organised crime,” committee chairman Francois Beukman said in a statement.
Responding to the parliamentary debate on his state-of-the-nation, the President said the ministry of police would be in charge of setting up the South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau and the National Bureau for Illegal Firearms Control and Priority Violent Crime.
“As part of the back-to-basics strategy, the ministry of police will establish special units to deal with drugs and related transgressions and trans-national crimes as well as violence and the proliferation of firearms in our society,” he said.
Zuma said the two units would fall under the control of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks.