City of Joburg MMC for Public Safety Dr Mgcini Tshwaku has led a week-long operation aimed at ridding the city of crime, drugs and illegal occupation of buildings.
Image: City of Joburg
Gauteng police Commissioner, General Tommy Mthombeni has confirmed that this week's Operation Shanela in the City of Joburg has netted more than 1200 suspected criminals including undocumented illegal foreigners.
His operation has coincided with a week-long operation dubbed #ManjeNamhlanje by City of Joburg MMC for Public Safety Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, who on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of 200 illegal immigrants during his operations in the city centre.
"People who were found to be illegal, who were using motorbikes, were arrested with their bikes as they were illegal. The operation is targeting everyone since it began on Wednesday and has recorded more than 1000 suspects who have been arrested. More than 222 were arrested on gender-based violence (complaints). I must report that there are other operations within the district as we are not focusing only on Johannesburg," he said.
On Wednesday, Tshwaku revealed that building raids and random drug searches will become a daily activity in the City of Joburg following a landmark operation aimed at dismantling organised crime, where his team also apprehended a suspected drug kingpin known as 'Bara' in Hillbrow, Johannesburg.
The arrest came as part of a larger crime prevention initiative that has seen law enforcement capture 200 suspects involved in various criminal activities, marking a significant step in addressing the escalating drug trade in the inner city.
The arrests coincided with another arrest of a suspected unlicensed borehole driller with JMPD spokesperson, Xolani Fihla, revealing that JMPD officers had responded to a complaint of illegal borehole drilling activity at a property located in Roodekrans, Roodepoort.
“Upon arrival, JMPD officers, in conjunction with the Citizens Relations and Urban Management (CRUM) unit, discovered a borehole drilling operation in progress. However, neither the property owner nor a representative with the necessary documentation was present.
Crucially, the drilling company failed to provide proof of compliance with essential city by-laws, Fihla said.
Fihla revealed that during the operation, the driver of the borehole truck was arrested and subsequently detained at Roodepoort SAPS on charges of damaging infrastructure while the officers impounded the borehole truck due to the absence of a valid license disc and number plates.
Tshwaku’s intensified operation comes a week after a video of what appears to be a group of illegal foreigners demolishing the door of a hijacked government-owned building located at the corner of De Villiers and Noord Street in Johannesburg made rounds on social media.
In the video, the suspected undocumented foreigners are seen forcibly reopening the building after it was sealed by the Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD) the previous Sunday.
Tshwaku, who was in the company of former Sizokthola TV presenter Xolani Khumalo during Wednesday’s operations, committed himself to being on the ground every day.
“We are going to be on the ground every day and there is going to be a building we are going to raid. We are also sending a stern warning to all the building hijackers and to all those who are selling drugs, we are coming for you,” Tshwaku stated.
Khumalo, known for his no-nonsense take against crime and drugs revealed that he will continue to work in ridding the streets of drug dealers.
“You know, Hillbrow is a very complex story. We have received information that there are people who are selling drugs in some of the buildings. As the MMC has said, these buildings are turning our city into a no-go zone,” he said.
Some of the items recovered during the raids include drugs and ingredients to manufacture fake alcohol.
Tshwaku also revealed that a collaborative effort between municipal police units is on the cards to ensure that city centres become crime free zones.
"We can make Juklyn very small. In Johannesburg, we have a tactical unit, and we have resources. We can take all those resources and go attack Juklyn. Tshwane is not as big as Johannesburg, so we can make it very small," he added.
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za
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