Police have arrested 13 831 suspects through Operation Shanela between 4 and 10 November.
Through Operation Shanela, SAPS continues to take a bold and decisive approach in dealing with crime in the country. These crime fighting activities include tracking operations, roadblocks, high visibility patrols, stop and searches, as well as tracing of wanted suspects.
All Shanela operations are led by the Provincial Commissioner of each province.
Just last week alone, the following arrests were made:
- 1 105 wanted suspects were arrested. These suspects were wanted for various serious and violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, rape, business and house robberies.
- 142 suspects were arrested for murder. The majority of these suspects were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal (28), followed by the Western Cape (27) and Easten Cape (26).
- 123 suspects were arrested for attempted murder, 29 more than the previous week.
- 232 suspects were arrested for rape, with the majority being arrested in KwaZulu-Natal (92).
- 1 556 suspects were arrested for assault grievous bodily harm (GBH) during this period.
- 228 drug dealers were arrested, 74 more than the previous week.
- 1 870 suspects were arrested for being in possession of drugs, with the majority of these in the Western Cape (806), followed by Gauteng (313).
- 115 suspects were arrested for being in the illegal possession of firearms, with the majority in Western Cape (29), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (27) and the Eastern Cape (17).
- 1 597 illegal foreign nationals were also arrested during this period.
- 400 drivers were arrested for drunken driving in the past week.
Under recoveries and confiscations, police registered the following successes:
- 151 firearms were confiscated in the past week, 52 more than the previous week.
- 6 193 rounds of ammunition were also confiscated.
- 66 hijacked and stolen vehicles were also recovered during this week’s operations.
Highlights of major takedowns and other successes include the following:
A SAPS task team deployed to prevent, combat and investigate criminality -- linked to the theft of minerals and murders of executives and businessmen at Richard Bay Minerals (RBM) mine -- has registered a breakthrough in the murder case of a prominent businessman in the area.
This week, the task team traced 27-year-old Halalisani Mcunu in Gauteng. He was found in possession of a 9mm pistol and three AK47s, one of which has already been linked to the murder of a businessman.
SAPS Flying Squad members in White River, Mpumalanga, were out conducting a routine crime prevention patrol last week when they arrested a suspect and confiscated 13 firearms found in his possession, including eight AK47s.
The members were out on a routine patrol when they were met by the suspect, who ignored an instruction to stop. The suspect sped off. His vehicle was successfully intercepted.
Illegal mining
Operation Vala Umgodi continues to register commendable successes since its inception in December 2023.
Just this week alone, more than 1 000 illegal miners resurfaced from an abandoned mineshaft in Orkney, North West.
“SAPS is committed to eradicating the illegal trade in counterfeit goods to safeguard consumers, legitimate businesses and the economy of the country,” SAPS said.
This week, the National Counterfeit Goods Unit led another takedown operation in Fordsburg and seized more than 8 000 counterfeit items worth over R2 million. Twenty-four Pakistani nationals were arrested during this multi-disciplinary operation.
“Police will continue with their operations by asserting the authority of the state to ensure the safety and security of all South Africans and visitors to the country,” the Police said. – SAnews.gov.za
