Operation Shanela’s week-long high-density operations across the Northern Cape resulted in 167 arrests for serious crimes, including murder and robbery, as the police intensified efforts to combat criminal activity during the festive season.
THE MULTI-disciplinary, high-density Operation Shanela continues to intensify efforts to combat crime in the Northern Cape as the festive season gets under way. Police actions were carried out across all five districts in the Province, targeting priority crimes in identified hot-spot areas.
Provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Molefi Shemane said the week-long operation, which ran from Monday, November 18, to Sunday, November 24, included various proactive measures such as vehicle checkpoints (VCPs), stop-and-search operations, roadblocks, suspect tracing, foot and vehicle patrols, compliance inspections, and visits to farms and mines.
During this period, the police arrested 167 suspects for a range of crimes, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, drug dealing, illegal possession of ammunition, burglary, assault, malicious damage to property and contravention of the Immigration Act.
The police conducted 40 VCPs and roadblocks across the Province, stopping and searching 2,255 vehicles and 4,323 individuals.
Additionally, they shut down 15 unlicensed liquor outlets and carried out compliance inspections at second-hand dealers, scrapyards, liquor premises, mines, farms, and various formal and informal businesses.
Confiscated items during the operations included a firearm, ammunition, dangerous weapons, thousands of litres of alcoholic beverages, drugs, and copper cables.
The provincial commissioner of the SAPS in the Northern Cape, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, assured the public that Operation Shanela will continue throughout the festive season and beyond. She emphasised the police’s commitment to maintaining high alert, with all resources mobilised during this critical period. “It’s all hands on deck, leaving no one behind,” she said.
She also urged community members to assist in the fight against crime by reporting any criminal activities via the Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or the MySAPS app.
