Police operation cleans Kwa-Thema streets of criminals

Kwa-Thema – Ekurhuleni SAPS acting district commissioner Brig Lebohang Machakela urged residents of Kwa-Thema to work with the police in a bid to help fight crime.
He was speaking during Operation Okae Molao held in the area on Thursday.

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Machakela said working with police was in their best interest.
“Reporting illegal activities will help fight crime and ensure your neighbourhood is safe.
“The police cannot successfully root out criminals without the help of the community,” he said.

The initiative is carried out weekly in the district.
“Through weekly crime stats from the 39 stations within the district, we are able to identify areas of concern with the help of crime intelligence.
“We then roll out the operation in that area to focus on the problem areas,” he explained.

During the operation, police focused on roadblocks, stop-and-searches, visible policing, searching for drugs, checking of second-hand goods at scrapyards and compliance of liquor outlets.
At the roadblock carried out on the corner of Thema and Habedi roads, police issued 44 traffic fines to the value of R26 300, with 206 vehicles searched.

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They impounded four cars and 16 discontinuation notices were handed out.
Machakela said with the help of Department of Home Affairs officials, 20 undocumented persons were arrested.
Three people were arrested for possession of drugs and another for dealing in drugs, with 38 Mandrax tablets and 26 pieces of crystal meth found.

The operation saw eight illegal shebeens shut down.
Machekela added that they extended the operation to Nkambulo and Lefa-Ifa secondary schools, where they confiscated a toy gun, cigarettes, two plastic bags of dagga and boxes of matches.
Another person was arrested for possession of counterfeit goods.

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