KZN cops nabbed 8000 suspects during Operation Shanela
KwaZulu-Natal police have made significant strides in combating crime, arresting 8221 suspects, including 121 wanted for murder.
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The KwaZulu-Natal police said 121 suspects wanted for murder were among 8221 suspects arrested during Operation Shanela II.
The operation was launched in Cape Town on June 26. In a statement on Monday, the KZN provincial police said various operations were held in all eleven districts of the province.
Operations included stop and searches, roadblocks, suspect raids, cordon and searches, as well as inspection of liquor outlets that were conducted.
It said from June 26 to date, Operation Shanela II has netted 8221 suspects, and 2150 of them were arrested for contact crimes, with 121 of them facing charges of murder.
The police said firearms have been identified as a weapon of choice in the commission of murder and attempted murder cases, and as a result, efforts to rid the communities of illegal guns were intensified.
During Operation Shanela, police officers recovered 159 unlicensed firearms as well as 1872 rounds of ammunition.
“During the ongoing operations, 1061 suspects were arrested for cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, 123 suspects were nabbed for attempted murder, and 1528 were taken in for drug-related cases. Sexual-related cases are amongst those which are high on the national agenda; hence, 87 suspects were arrested for rape during the operations.
“All arrested suspects have appeared in various courts around the province. Operations are still ongoing with the purpose of ridding the streets of the criminal elements and making the province of KwaZulu-Natal safer,” said the statement.