KWAZULU-Natal police have carried out a number of operations for the past five days (10 December to 15 December) in preparation for the Festive Season. These operations included stop and searches, roadblocks, cordon and search, tracing of wanted suspects, illegal firearm raids and high police visibility operations.

A total of 1863 suspects were arrested for crimes ranging from murder, attempted murder, rape, business robbery, house robbery, hijacking, theft of motor vehicles, assault, kidnapping, fraud, stock theft, possession of unlicensed firearms, possession of drugs. During the operations a large quantity of drugs and alcohol were seized. A total of 73 firearms, including rifles, shotguns and pistols, were seized during these operations.  Police also recovered 51 stolen motor vehicles during these operations. The arrested suspects have appeared in various courts around the province.

Provincial commissioner, Lt General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, congratulated police for the successes achieved and said operations will continue throughout the festive season.