Durban — Although KwaZulu-Natal did not make it onto the list of major takedowns during last week’s Operation Shanela operations, provincial police registered the majority of rape-related arrests for the second consecutive week and recovered a high number of firearms for the third consecutive week.

From August 5 to 11, 14 157 suspects were arrested during Operation Shanela across the country.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said that during that week, police across the country conducted more than 250 roadblocks. In addition, tracing operations, stop and searches, patrols and hostel searches were conducted.

Mathe said 4 783 suspects wanted for crimes such as murder, rape, possession of illegal firearms and business robberies were arrested.

She said 159 suspects were arrested for murder and 94 suspects were arrested for attempted murder.

She added that assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm continues to register a large number of arrests with 1 254 suspects arrested.

Moreover, 334 drug dealers were arrested during this period with 104 arrested in the Western Cape and 64 in the Free State.

Looking at KZN, Mathe said: “In total, 271suspects were arrested for rape, 121 of them in KZN. This is the second consecutive week that KZN police register the majority of arrests in relation to rape cases. Last week, KZN recorded 80 arrests out of the 182 suspects that were arrested through countrywide operations.

“Ninety-eight suspects were arrested for being in the illegal possession of firearms – 24 were arrested in KZN while 22 were arrested in the Western Cape.

“In all, 458 suspects were arrested for the illegal dealing in liquor, 155 of these arrests were effected in KZN while Mpumalanga recorded 113 arrests.

“And 1 002 illegal immigrants were arrested, 280 of them in Gauteng, 72 in KZN.”

On recoveries and confiscations, Mathe said: “Ninety-nine firearms were confiscated during operations, 20 of them during police operations in KwaZulu-Natal. This is the third consecutive week in which police in KZN recovered a high number of firearms. Last week, KZN police confiscated 47 firearms and in the previous week, from July 21 to July 27, the province seized 40 firearms. In total, 1 466 rounds of ammunition were also confiscated.”

Seventy hijacked and stolen vehicles were also recovered.

Mathe said during Operation Shanela, a highlight of major takedowns include:

A multidisciplinary team led by SAPS rescued a Portuguese businessman in Lenasia, Johannesburg on Saturday morning. He was kidnapped last month outside his business premises. An undocumented Zimbabwean woman has been arrested in connection with his kidnapping.
The DPCI (Hawks) in the North West arrested seven suspects in Rustenburg and Brits for the alleged theft of precious metals worth R350 million. The arrest follows information received about the theft of suspected platinum group material at a Rustenburg mine.
Eight suspected cash-in-transit robbers were shot dead during a shoot-out with police in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Seven AK47 rifles were found in their possession.
Eastern Cape police responded to a business robbery in Nqamakwe. A shoot-out ensued between robbers and police. Three suspects were arrested, while one was shot dead.
Two women aged 50 and 55 were arrested by Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers for impersonating SAPS officers. The women allegedly promised unsuspecting victims jobs in the SAPS if they paid an amount of R8 000. An e-hailing driver alerted police and the JMPD acted on the information. SAPS reminds all job seekers that jobs in the service are not for sale and should anyone demand money for placement in the SAPS, they should immediately report it to the Crime Stop Number on 08600 10111.

“Police will continue with their weekly operations to rid communities of crime, communities are urged to work together with the police by joining their local community police forum (CPF) at their local police station. Through CPF structures, SAPS is able to jointly solve crime problems with the assistance of our communities,” Mathe said.

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