Clash of the Cartels: The Global Drug Kingpins Stalking South Africa was released in November 2022.
This is Caryn’s third book and delves into decades-old international drug trafficking routes – and the smugglers that sustain them. Clash of the Cartels draws on research that Caryn has painstakingly conducted over several years.
She has continued exposing narcotrafficking routes between South Africa and other countries.
Australian cops ground suspected traffickers after cocaine worth R500m flown in from SA In 2019 two drug traffickers were arrested in Australia for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country in passenger planes from South Africa. Now, a similar takedown has happened, showing how resilient some narcotrafficking routes are.
Tik and cocaine worth billions found in consignments of apples, pears and oranges exported from SA to India The drug interceptions in India have led to investigators uncovering new smuggling methods between the two countries.
To The Wolves: How Traitor Cops Crafted South Africa’s Underworld was released in June 2021.
This book, Caryn’s second, explores decades of claims and counterclaims among South Africa’s police officers, including that some of them have furthered, not fought, organised crime.
The Enforcers: Inside Cape Town’s Deadly Nightclub Battles was published in 2019.
It followed nearly a decade of news reporting on allegations of organised crime groupings jostling for power as they prey on Cape Town’s city centre.
These are just some of the articles Caryn has written, as a reporter for various publications, that show how these claims continuously rip at the city – and South Africa – and create a sinister underside to the business hub and country.
July 2021 To serve and endanger: Corrupt cops are South Africa’s greatest security threat
July 2021 State Capture 2.0: South Africa’s stirring threat
A cycle of claims that certain police officers were involved in smuggling firearms to gangsters culminated in this June 2021 article Class action pending: Families of those shot with cop-smuggled firearms to take on police
Caryn has written extensively on claims of firearm smuggling. She wrote this piece in February 2021 for Daily Maverick 168 Want an illegal gun in Western Cape? Not a problem
December 2020 Smear and Loathing: Cop versus cop versus gangster in an unseemly melee that betrays the people’s trust
In September 2020, more than a year after The Enforcers: Inside Cape Town’s Deadly Nightclub Battles was published, fresh claims of an extortion racket operating in the city surfaced. Caryn was therefore invited to chat about the history of such claims on CapeTalk. Listen to the conversation about how ‘alleged protection rackets have been around since the 1980s in Long Street’
March 2019 (written together with Sam Sole) SAPS Wars Part 1: The blurry blue line between the cops and the Cape underworld
January 2018 EXCLUSIVE: Duduzane Zuma’s mystery meeting with underworld figure Nafiz Modack
September 2017 EXCLUSIVE: People want me dead because of my security industry connections – underworld figure Modack ‘
July 2017 Gang bosses exploit private security loophole to ‘legally intimidate’ rivals – sources Guards working for companies registered with the private security regulator may be exploiting this by intimidating others or acting as a show of force for certain individuals, while secure in the knowledge official paperwork could protect them
March 2017 Violent brawl as underworld ‘coup’ is carried out in Cape Town A ruthless coup has turned the Cape’s underworld upside down, with one group forcibly starting to take control of the nightclub security business following a massive brawl between rivals. And How Mandela cop infiltrated suspected crime bosses A police officer frequented nightclubs in Cape Town and cosied up to some of the country’s most controversial suspected criminals as part of covert operations to infiltrate their networks.
April 2015 Beeka man ‘felt threatened’ by Lifman Sinister visits, drug abuse and backstabbing plagued what was once Cape Town’s strongest bouncer network run by some of the city’s most notorious businessmen, a court heard this week.
March 2012 ‘Russian’ linked to extortion racket Igor “the Russian” Russol intimidated a city businessman by arriving at his premises with four armed men, dressed in black and demanding money, the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court heard yesterday.’=
January 2012 Russian gangster tells of fight for Cap, Band of brothers who patrol club scene, How cocaine unmasked Serbian fugitive and Sexy Boys ‘linked’ to Beeka shooting
March 2011 Beeka’s gangster links In his heyday Cyril Beeka was probed by police for ruling virtually all of the city’s nightclub security operations with an iron fist. If new club owners did not agree to pay for his security services, they would allegedly face the wrath and the boots of Beeka’s army of security guards, the Moroccans.