Police in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested 9 522 suspects for a variety of crimes and recovered a total of 258 firearms, including 17 rifles during Operation Shanela and other targeted operations in the month of March 2024.
A total of 167 suspected murderers and 137 attempted murder suspects were among the 3 156 suspects who were arrested for contact crimes. 148 Suspects were put behind bars in connection with cases of robbery, inclusive of house robbery, business robbery, robbery with aggravating circumstances and carjacking.
Those who prey on women and children were also traced, and the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit detectives ensured that 243 suspected rapists were removed from society in the month. Still on contact crimes, 42 suspects were arrested for sexual assault, 1 535 more suspects were nabbed for allegedly assaulting others with an intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
On property related crimes, 230 suspects were cornered and brought to book for burglaries at residential premises. Sixty five suspects were arrested for business burglaries and 30 more suspects were bust for their alleged involvement in cases of stock theft. Thirty two suspects saw their reign of terror brought to an abrupt halt when they were arrested for a string of theft of motor vehicles as well as theft from motor vehicles.
The fight against the proliferation of drugs and the abuse of liquor was intensified and during the operations, 1 380 suspects were arrested for drug-related crimes. Four hundred and forty five people were arrested for illegal dealing in liquor, 426 people were also arrested for driving under the influence of liquor and a further 73 people were nabbed for drinking in a public place.
Going together with the 258 firearms, police also recovered almost 3 000 rounds of ammunition of various calibre of firearms. Four hundred and sixty three knives and 22 machetes were also recovered during the province-wide operations.
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