Fearless criminal hunter survives potential hit
Laurie Pieters-James survives suspected hit on her and warns the perpetrators she will not stop until they have been 'dealt with'.
Laurie Pieters-James is a woman who hunts human traffickers, cybercriminals and criminal syndicates with dogged determination .
She does this through her company Cybareti and spends a significant portion of her work in training the likes of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks), SAPS and other agencies to enable them to better carry out their work.
She is fearless, but also a target of the criminal underworld she works to expose.
In an interview with the Northcliff Melville Times in Fairland discussing vital training by a world-class international trainer that is available for law enforcement and others, she described surviving a ‘hit’ the previous morning in Centurion.
“I always drive behind trucks for cover because they are big, and it means I can only be attacked on one side.”
A white Toyota Hilux came up on her left side and tried three times to push her into oncoming traffic. “The road narrowed so he was forced to move to my back. A second vehicle then came from behind and drove into me and forced me to stop. I was boxed in but managed to get out of the vehicle.”
Two men violently attacked her while also taking photos and behaving ‘strangely’.
“I was taking video and photos without thinking; I am not sure how I managed it.”
“They were both screaming at me but the one slowed down and while grabbing me, ‘sniffed my hair and body and said you smell like a k***** and a c***.’
In the fight, she somehow not only kept herself alive but also secured her phone on which she discovered photo and video evidence of the vehicles and the men.
This all happened at 09:00 on a busy road – yet nobody stopped to help her despite many cars driving past.
The two men eventually drove off leaving a bewildered Pieters-James behind.
“We have traced and located the vehicles and a case has been opened at the police.”
Asked why she feels it might have been a hit, she said, “I’m obviously not a friend of trafficking syndicates protecting their billions. To give you an idea, the international airline industry is worth about $30b (R564b). The trafficking industry is worth about $157b (R2 951b). So, it’s very big business.”
She had to say this to her attackers should they see this article.
“You made the biggest mistake of your life. I will prosecute you and I will come for you. I will pursue this to the end. You chose the wrong person to strike. If this was a botched hit, come again, but next time bring more people.”
If it turns out to have been an ‘insane’ road rage incident, she will show no mercy to the men who savagely and brazenly attacked a woman.
“I will not give up the fight against trafficking ever. I will die for this cause and people like me will stand up and fight until our last breath to help the victims and law enforcement prosecute them.”
Pieters-James addressed the Fairland CPF’s monthly public meeting to give advice on cyber-related crimes which will be published in full next week.
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