Durban — In an update on countrywide policing operations, SAPS national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola highlighted KwaZulu-Natal’s confiscation of firearms, gang arrests and Operation Vala Umgodi.
Masemola had covered other topics, including but not limited to police visibility, gun violence, Operation Shanela arrests, takedowns in serious and violent crime, drug busts, kidnappings, construction mafia and police killings.
He said multidisciplinary teams across the length and breadth of our country have been hard at work intercepting, dismantling and dislodging the work of organised crime syndicates operating in the country.
“We are responding decisively to the war declared by criminals, and we remain resolute in our efforts to fight crime and anyone who threatens the safety and security of law-abiding citizens, and have thus adopted an aggressive approach in ensuring that we stamp the authority of the state. It is no secret that our men and women in blue are up against heavily armed criminals who have no regard for the rule of law,” Masemola said.
Speaking on firearms, Masemola said over 20 000 firearms have been seized in two years across the country.
He said that in a week, from July 22 to 28, 106 firearms were confiscated during operations in the country.
“Forty of these firearms were seized in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Of the 106 firearms, 90 are handguns, eight are home-made firearms, seven are rifles and one shotgun was seized.”
On gangs, Masemola said the ongoing gang-related violence in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Gauteng continues to receive priority with the deployment of the Anti-Gang Unit and specialised units in identified hot spots. Dedicated interventions continue and several gang leaders and members have been arrested in the past six months.
He said these include 64 gang members arrested in Westbury. Thirty-four of them belong to the Fast gang group that was operating in Westbury, Langlaagte and Eldorado Park.
“During this period, 36 gang members from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo were convicted to a collective 350 years’ imprisonment.”
Masemola said through Operation Vala Umgodi, to date, 9 297 suspects have been arrested for various crimes concerning illicit mining activities. These arrests were made in the seven mining provinces identified as hot spots for illegal mining activities.
“They are Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State,” Masemola said.
“Through these operations, 233 firearms and more than 5 800 rounds of ammunition were seized. Fifty big mining machinery including TLBs and front loaders were seized and trucks involved in these illicit activities were also confiscated.”
Masemola added: “It is on this note that we assure our communities that we will continue to intensify our crime-combating efforts in areas that require stabilisation. But, communities also need to play their part by reporting suspicious activities. Our message is clear to criminals: either you hand yourself over to us and lessen our work of tracing you or we come for you. We will not back down in protecting our communities.”
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