Image via: Twitter / @SAPoliceService
More than 800 suspects arrested in Gauteng over the long weekend
More than 800 suspects were arrested by Gauteng SAPS and law enforcement agencies in numerous high-density operations over the weekend.
Image via: Twitter / @SAPoliceService
Gauteng police endured quite a busy long weekend as operations across the province saw more than 800 suspects arrested for various offences ranging from murder and robbery to drunk driving and dealing in counterfeit goods.
Three suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in three murders in Phumusiwe informal settlement on Saturday 20 March. The alleged murderers were apprehended in Hospital View Tembisa after police responded to a tip-off. Three firearms, including two that were unlicensed, were found in their possession.
OFFENCES RANGE FROM MURDER, ROBBERY, AND DRUNK DRIVING
Police also removed an alleged serial robber from the streets of Tshwane after they followed a lead to the suspect’s address. He was found in possession of dagga and an unlicensed firearm and will be profiled to see if he has been involved in any other crimes, according to SAPS.
Six more suspects were arrested on Saturday evening, near Zandspruit informal settlement, by members from the Roodeplaat K9 unit. The officers pulled over a panel van and found three unlicensed firearms and property they suspect was stolen inside the vehicle, which was impounded pending further investigation. Two of the van’s occupants — the driver and one passenger — allegedly jumped out of the vehicle and ran away.
Police bigwigs, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela and Major General Max Masha led an operation in Dobsonville, Soweto that saw more than 150 suspects arrested.
“…police arrested 29 drunk and driving suspects at a road block, impounded a suspected stolen vehicle, while detectives arrested over 140 suspects wanted for various serious and violent crimes,” said SAPS’ Captain Kay Makhubele in a statement.
More than 190 suspects were arrested during operations in Fochville, in West Rand, Gauteng.
“…among the arrested suspects, 12 were arrested for drunk and driving while a number of illegal liquor outlets were closed and liquor confiscated,” said Makhubele.
COUNTERFEIT GOODS WORTH MILLIONS SEIZED IN JOBURG CBD
A team of police stormed a workshop in Johannesburg’s central business district during the early hours of Saturday. At the site, they discovered and confiscated counterfeit goods with an estimated value of R4.2 million. An unknown number of suspects were arrested.
At the same time, integrated law enforcement agencies in the Tshwane and Ekurhuleni Districts took more than 380 suspects into custody for various offences, including drunken driving, yet again.
847 SUSPECTS WERE ARRESTED IN TOTAL
“The above arrests brought to total 847 suspects that were arrested over the long weekend across all five districts,” said Makhubele.
The seven firearms confiscated during operations will be put through ballistic tests to determine whether they were used in other crimes. The hundreds of arrested suspects are expected to appear before the respective courts in Gauteng in due course.
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