There have been 107 criminal cases related to the torching of trucks which police have been investigating since 2018, said KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube on Thursday.

She said the provincial executive received a comprehensive report on the work being done on the ground, including investigations, the deployment of law enforcement, and intelligence gathering.

Nine trucks had, so far, been torched in KZN and 10 trucks in other areas in a space of just four days.

Police Minister Bheki Cele said 12 people of interest were part of four coordinated groups in KZN and Mpumalanga. Three had since been arrested in Mpumalanga.

The premier called for special courts to be created to deal with some instances of criminality involving trucks.

"We must establish special courts to deal with some of these. The non-prosecution of these cases and time delays is not good. We want to see justice."

She said the joint security cluster would engage the justice department to set up special courts to deal with the torching of trucks.

She described the crimes as "tantamount to economic sabotage".

Dube-Ncube was encouraged by Cele identifying the group of 12, saying she hoped for imminent arrests.

"We firmly believe that the sooner the police make arrests, the sooner the message will be clear to all those who want to cause anarchy, that such has no space in our province."

She said the provincial executive would ensure a special team was assembled from the police's organised crime unit to investigate the cases.

Dube-Ncube added that the security cluster would ensure people of interest were taken in for questioning.

"Investigations are ongoing to identify further instigators of violence."

She said community structures in key routes around the province had been activated "to assist intelligence structures with key information and for early detection".

"Moving forward, the government will engage with all role-players through the Inter-Ministerial Task Team to deal with the challenges facing the trucking industry. While doing this, acts of criminality must be dealt with and perpetrators must be arrested."

She said if there were genuine concerns in the trucking sector, they should be raised in the correct platforms.

"Violence cannot be the solution."