The South African Police Service purchased nearly 3,000 litres of diesel from John Ramsay Service Station, a business linked to Ralph Stanfield and his wife, Nicole Johnson, between October 2022 and March 2023. The police stations that made the purchases, Lentegeur and Nyanga, are managed by the Western Cape provincial police office, while the Bishop Lavis police training academy is administered by the SAPS national training office.
The purchases were made while detectives were investigating Stanfield and Johnson's alleged organised crime network. The couple, along with 12 of their suspected associates, are set to go on trial in the Western Cape Division of the High Court on October 19. They face charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, including attempted murder, murder, fraud, and money laundering.
According to police supply chain management documents, the purchases were made without triggering any internal alarms. However, current and former police supply chain management sources claim that concluding contracts with a business with known links to the Stanfield-Johnson enterprise should have raised "major red flags".
The John Ramsay Service Station is located in Cape Town's suburb of Bishop Lavis, a known 28s street gang stronghold. Sources claim that it is no secret that Stanfield and his family control the petrol station. A community policing forum source within the Lentegeur policing precinct stated that "no one can say you don't know who owns that garage. Everyone on the [Cape] Flats knows who the owners are."
An analysis of the service station's business structure using Companies and Intellectual Property Commission documents reveals extensive connections between the business, Stanfield, and his family that go back at least 29 years. Ralph Stanfield himself became a member of the close corporation in 2004, resigning in 2012 when two of his associated trusts and Johnson were appointed members.
The police management launched an inquiry into the contracting after amaBhungane reported the story. It is unclear how the police missed the family connections and whether procurement red flags were deliberately or conveniently ignored.
The Stanfield-Johnson enterprise consists of several fuel businesses, including a service station and a diesel distribution company. Evidence suggests that Johnson imported diesel from Mozambique into South Africa, where she apparently sold it on Gauteng's East Rand and in Cape Town.
Key points
- The police bought diesel from a company linked to alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield while investigating his suspected criminal enterprise.
- The purchases were made without triggering any internal alarms, despite the police being aware of the investigation into Stanfield's alleged organised crime network.
- The police management launched an inquiry into the contracting after the story was reported.
