Police arrest 17,054 suspects in a week during Operation Shanela
The operation, which began in 2023, is aimed at eradicating crime. It consists of regular stop-and-searches, roadblocks, vehicle checkpoints, high-visibility patrols including foot patrols and the tracing of wanted suspects.
According to police spokesperson Lt-Col Vincent Mukhathi, 2,911 suspects were arrested for serious and violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, car hijacking, rape and house and business robbery.
Arrests included: 179 for murder
266 for rape
1,763 for assault GHB
246 for dealing in drugs
2,406 for possession of drugs
15 for human trafficking.
Confiscations and recoveries included: 1,805 rounds of ammunition
155 firearms
53 hijacked and stolen vehicles
Mukhathi made reference to some major arrests made in Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
In Gauteng, police seized two unlicensed firearms from a suspect linked to armed robberies. A 37-year-old alleged rapist and serial killer, suspected of using dating apps to lure victims in Pretoria, was arrested. A 25-year-old suspect from São Paulo was intercepted at OR Tambo International Airport while attempting to smuggle cocaine valued at R4.2m.
Another high-profile case involved the police political killings task Tteam arresting businessman Katiso Molefe and three suspected hitmen for the murder of DJ Sumbody. They are also allegedly linked to the murder of Hector 'DJ Vintos' Buthelezi.
'They appeared in the Alexander magistrate's court on July 29 facing charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition,' Mukhathi said.
In the Free State, a 42-year-old foreign national truck driver was found in possession of illicit cigarettes worth R800,000. He is expected to appear in court.
Police in KwaZulu-Natal arrested two foreign nationals and recovered R30m worth of counterfeit jewellery and luxury items, a shotgun, ammunition and cash.
In Gqeberha, police seized counterfeit pharmaceuticals and consumer goods, including unregulated tablets and pregnancy kits valued at R2.2m. A suspect linked to an extortion ring was fatally wounded in a shoot-out with tactical response team members in Ngqeleni.
'A 9mm pistol and live ammunition were recovered. His passenger was detained for questioning,' Mukhathi said.
'In Port Alfred, POLICE disrupted a marine trafficking operation involving 822.7kg of West Coast rock lobster tails worth R1.2m. Two suspects were arrested for contravening the Marine Living Resources Act.'
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