Economic Protected Resources section

Colonel Jacob was promoted to the rank of Colonel in February 2022 and appointed Unit Commander of the Durban Serious Organized Crime Investigation Unit, which includes the National Priority Violent Crime Section (NPVC), SANEB, and EPR groups.

“In February 2022 , I was promoted to the rank of Colonel and appointed as the Unit Commander of the Durban Serious Organized Crime Investigation Unit . The unit comprises a National Priority Violent Crime Section (NPVC , SANEB and EPR groups ) .”

The SOCI component has four sections: South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) for drug trafficking and dismantling clandestine drug labs; Economic Protected Resources section investigating transnational import of metals, illegal mining, wildlife trafficking, and human trafficking linked to organised crime groups.

“The second section is the South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau, commonly known as SANEB, which deals with all national and transnational drug trafficking offences, detection and dismantling of all clandestine drug laboratories, and other drug-related crimes. In the third section there is the Economic Protected Resources section, which investigates offences relating to transnational importing of non-ferrous metals and tampering with essential infrastructure in organised, complex, and sophisticated cases, transnational importing and exporting of precious metals, diamonds, and chrome, illegal mining committed in an organised fashion, wildlife trafficking, and then human trafficking linked to organised criminal groups or committed in an organised fashion by land, sea, or air.”