Ominous sentinels line the long, straight roads to Richards Bay, a city living in fear of assassins.
First, towering eucalyptus trees stand sentry on either side of the N2, about an hour's drive north from Durban towards Mozambique. Closer to the turnoff to Richards Bay, trees make way for giant pylons and power lines crisscrossing the road leading to Africa's biggest deepwater port.
Industry here is colossal and appears invulnerable.
But the opposite is true terror stalks resource-rich and economically strategic Richards Bay. People are being watched.
This story is about organised crime, corporate vulnerability, political manipulation and how these all intersect.
