This is South Africa, home to cutthroat gangs and a lair to some of the world's most notorious drug lords who seem to view the country as a buffer from prosecution.

It's easy to see why politics has pummelled policing, first in the form of apartheid and then under Jacob Zuma's presidency when state corruption exploded, and intelligence structures imploded. Tons of illicit drugs are pumped across the borders annually. This bleeds into other crimes including terrorism, arms dealing, kidnapping and extortion. Add hardened homespawned gangs to this toxic mix, and the combination is lethal.

An array of local and foreign names surface when prodding this volatile matrix. Among them is one of India's most wanted, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, accused of partnering with the Taliban, and self-confessed drug trafficking mastermind Vaygiri Goswami who claims to have helped finance the ANC. Then there is Brazilian tracking accused Gilberto Aparecido dos Santos, and Cuban kingpin Nelson Pablo Yester-Garrido, who purportedly had a soft spot for Nelson Mandela.

For true-crime diehard fans, this one is for you.