Organised crime thrives in paradise

This research paper examines the socio-economic conditions of border communities between South Africa and Mozambique, highlighting how poverty, restrictive legislation, and corruption fuel organised crime and smuggling networks involving sugar, alcohol, and salt across Southern Africa.

• Border communities in Mozambique face extreme poverty and a lack of basic infrastructure, such as tarred roads, electricity, and water, despite the presence of lucrative resorts that can earn R100,000 in a single busy weekend.
• Mozambican legislation protecting local industries, combined with high customs taxes (up to 45%) on goods from South Africa, drives residents to cross borders illegally and fuels a black market for confiscated goods like sugar.
• Organised crime networks operate across multiple Southern African nations, with Zimbabwean price controls encouraging the smuggling of sugar, alcohol, and salt into Zambia and Mozambique, sometimes involving senior police officers in Harare using police vehicles.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). Organised crime thrives in paradise. https://saiia.org.za/research/organised-crime-thrives-in-paradise/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Organised crime thrives in paradise. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/research/organised-crime-thrives-in-paradise/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Organised crime thrives in paradise |date=30 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/organised-crime-thrives-in-paradise/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008organised, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Organised crime thrives in paradise}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/organised-crime-thrives-in-paradise/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }