Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola leads the charge as the Northern Cape police tighten the net - 217 suspects arrested in a province-wide crime crackdown.
Image: Supplied / SAPS
POLICE in the Northern Cape continue to intensify crime-fighting efforts through Operation Shanela, resulting in the arrest of 217 suspects across all five districts between Monday, March 10, and Sunday, March 16.
With a firm commitment to ensuring public safety, law enforcement officers launched a series of high-impact operations, targeting criminal activities, enforcing compliance regulations, and engaging with communities. The provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, personally joined the operations in Kimberley on March 14, demonstrating SAPS’s hands-on approach to tackling crime.
According to provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Sergio Kock, multi-disciplinary teams were deployed to conduct compliance inspections at liquor outlets, execute search-and-seizure operations, and track down wanted suspects.
During the operation, authorities carried out 524 high-visibility vehicle patrols and 1,812 stop-and-search actions, stopping and searching 3,443 vehicles and 7,609 individuals at various vehicle checkpoints and roadblocks across the province.
Suspects were arrested for a range of crimes, including illegal dealing in liquor, burglaries at residential and business premises, malicious damage to property, stock theft, assault, robbery, drug dealing, and possession of dangerous weapons.
The police also executed numerous actions, including the tracing of wanted suspects and compliance inspections at second-hand dealers, liquor outlets, scrapyards, farms, and both formal and informal businesses.
In addition, officers visited schools as part of the Safer Schools Programme and engaged with various community policing structures, including the Community Police Forum (CPF).
During the week-long operation, enforcement officers seized counterfeit goods, dangerous weapons, firearms and ammunition, alcoholic beverages, drugs and cash.
Lieutenant-General Otola commended all officers involved, as well as partner organisations, for their dedication in executing the operation. She also expressed appreciation to the public for their continued support in the fight against crime.
To further strengthen community policing, provincial management handed over four vehicles to district CPFs, enhancing service delivery and reinforcing the partnership between SAPS and the community.
"SAPS will leave no one behind in our collective efforts to curb and eradicate crime," Otola said.
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