Over the past two months, more than 75 firearms were found in the Greytown Cluster, which includes the Muden, Msinga and Kranskop areas. Members of the National Intervention Unit, Task Force, Crime Intelligence, Public Order Policing and Greytown police worked tirelessly, raiding homes and recovering these firearms. More than 35 suspects were arrested and have appeared in various magistrate’s courts.

Some of the areas in which weapons were found are very close to Ladysmith.

Ladysmth TRT officers have been killed in operations in the area in the past, and criminals wanted for crime in Ladysmith have hidden in the area in the past. It is also a major dumping ground for stolen vehicles.

The SAPS has embarked on multi-disciplinary operations under the banner of Operation Fiyela. Operations have been launched across the province, with hundreds of arrests for various offences taking place.

These multi-disciplinary operations – which include various SAPS disciplines, SANDF, Department of Home Affairs and Metro Police – aim to clean up our streets of criminal elements and make our neighbourhoods safer. We are targeting criminal dens for dealing or possession of drugs, say police.

Security forces will also target those who deal in alcohol illegally, while specific operations will ensure that people are arrested for being in illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Security forces will also arrest those who are in the country illegally and cannot provide them with the necessary documentation.

Large quantities of drugs, alcohol, dangerous weapons, stolen goods and counterfeit goods have already been seized by police.

In the days ahead, Operation Fiyela will be going into other areas, as SAPS intelligence dictates, and officers will be cleaning up identified trouble areas. Members of Provincial Joint Structures are fully involved in all operations and police enjoy the support of all government departments that form part of this body. “There will be a lot of dust as we hit the ground and we want to assure our communities that criminals will be feeling the heat,” add police.

On Friday morning, National Intervention Unit officers deployed in the Greytown area were conducting investigations into illegal firearms which led them to a homestead in the area. The homestead was secured and searched by police officers. A total of 24 firearms were recovered at the homestead. 20 of these firearms were unlicensed and included AK-47 rifles, 303 rifles, R1 rifles and 9mm pistols. A total of 28 suspects were arrested and will be charged for possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition. They will appear in the Greytown Magistrate’s Court today (Monday, May 11) for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

On May 3, Pietermaritzburg Public Order Police recovered a total of 15 unlicensed firearms in the same area. Altogether, more than 75 firearms were recovered in various operations in the Greytown/Muden area and a total of 35 suspects have been arrested. Five Danisa family members were attacked and shot in Dannhauser area near Newcastle while on their way to Johannesburg. Four of them were critically injured and one died at the scene. One Zulu family member was arrested. On Saturday, May 2, Zulu family members were attacked in their Muden home. One family member was fatally shot and two licensed firearms were taken during the attack. Police are investigating the link between the two incidents.

“These operations are conducted under the banner of Operation Fiyela and is part of our strategy to secure various communities across the province that are plagued by unrest and crime. Police in KwaZulu-Natal have conducted numerous operations focused on removing illegal firearms and we have had great successes. These firearms would have been used to rob and maim innocent members of the community had police not removed them from our streets,” said the Provincial Commissioner.