Durban - Operations conducted by KwaZulu-Natal police have resulted in the arrest of over 9 000 suspects.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the suspects were arrested for a variety of crimes, including murder, attempted murder, rape and various types of robberies, including carjacking.
Provincial commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said high density operations have become a norm and will continue in order to create a safe and secure environment for all residents of the province and visitors alike.
He challenged police officers to be patriotic enough to go the extra mile in ensuring the safety and security of people of KZN.
“Criminals cannot do as they please, lawlessness cannot be the order of the day and no one can walk all over us as law enforcement officers. We have a Constitutional mandate to combat and prevent crime and that should be in our minds every time we report for duty. No area is a no-go area, no-one is untouchable and we must make our presence felt. We must enforce the law to a point where criminals run out of breath,” said Mkhwanazi.
Netshiunda said a total of 2 620 suspects were arrested for contact crimes.
- 155 of them were nabbed in connection with cases of murder, including a farm murder
- 122 more suspects were bust after they were linked with cases of attempted murder
- 1 245 suspects were arrested for cases of assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm
- 624 knives, 28 machetes, 21 fighting sticks and two axes were seized in the process.
Netshiunda said there has been an increase in murders being committed with the use of firearms in the province.
“(As a result) targeted operations at intelligence-identified areas were conducted and a total of 325 firearms, inclusive of 29 rifles and 19 shotguns were removed from society in the month of May,” he said.
Over 3 000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres were also recovered, he said.
Other arrests include:
- 57 suspects were arrested for house robberies
- 20 people were nabbed for carjacking
- 33 suspects were bust for business robberies
- 17 suspects were arrested for theft of livestock. Thirty one cattle, 24 goats and nine sheep were recovered
- 34 people were also arrested for kidnapping
According to Netshiunda, drugs have also been identified as one of the contributing factors in the commission of crime.
“Dedicated teams of detectives and visible policing have managed to arrest 1 577 suspects for drug-related crimes,” he said.
He said the war against gender-based violence (GBV) has also been intensified and the police efforts in curbing the scourge has resulted in the arrests of 213 suspects for rape, 27 people were nabbed for sexual assault, while seven more suspects were arrested for attempted rape. Nine suspects were also put behind bars for sexual offences.
“Investigators from the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units (FCS) across the province have been hard at work and more than 11 life imprisonment sentences were attained in the month of May. A further 149 more people were arrested as a result of contravention of the Domestic Violence Act,” said Netshiunda.
