By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
The Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili said police across the country will continue to stamp the authority of the state when responding to serious and violent crime especially aggravated armed robberies in anticipation of the busy long weekend.
Mosikili said through heightened police visibility and intelligence driven operations, criminals will continue to feel the full wrath of the law.
She said as the country enters the long weekend, police visibility will be heightened to ensure the safety and security of everyone within South African borders through regular roadblocks, stop and searches and tracing of wanted suspects.
Mosikili has also taken this opportunity to appreciate the unrelenting efforts of police officers across the country in preventing and combating incidents of serious and violent crime across many parts of the country.
Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said through OPERATION SHANELA police have so far arrested 145 812 suspects for various crimes ranging from murder to assault since,08 May 2023.
Mathe said in just this week alone, police have registered a number of successes including the latest take down of cash-in-transit heist suspects in Hoedspruit, Limpopo in which four suspects were killed and three suspects arrested.
“Among those arrested is a wanted mozambican national who has been linked to a murder of a police officer, a spate of car hijackings , house and business robberies and fraud. Police seized one pistol, a rifle and some of the stolen money.
In Gauteng, a multidisciplinary team led by the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team rescued an 18-year-old Wits student from a kidnapping syndicate that had been targeting the LGBTQI+ community on a dating app.
The syndicate is being linked to a number of kidnappings where ransom demands were being made.
In the Northern Cape, 867 illegal miners were arrested during an intelligence driven operation in the Namaqua region on Tuesday.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, within 24 hours of a commission of a crime in which five men were shot and killed at a parking lot in Richards Bay on Tuesday, police traced two suspects to an upmarket estate in Ballito.
“The pair were shot and killed during a take down operation with police specialised units. One of the suspects has been on police radar for sometime and was being investigated in a number of cases.
“In the Eastern Cape, police arrested a gang that had robbed a store of R1 million worth of jewellery. On the same day, all ten suspects were tracked down and arrested following a crime intelligence driven operation in which all the jewellery was recovered as well as four firearms recovered.”
Mathe said in Caroline, Mpumalanga, the illicit mining task team shutdown an illegal coal mine and seized mining equipment worth R60 million rand as well as coal worth R12 million. A mine manager was arrested and a manhunt is underway for the mine owner.
Mosikili says police are ready to respond to the call of duty during the busy long weekend.
“ We are entering a very busy period of the year and on the side of the police we are also intensifying our crime combatting efforts. All these successes would not have been possible without the support and assistance of our key stakeholders in the fight against crime such as business sector, private security and our communities.
“This long weekend we are heightening visibility to ensure the safety and security of all.”
