Police rid the streets of drugs, stolen property and firearms
Arrests were made during the weekend, as police cracked down on crime
15 suspects appeared in various courts across the Uthukela Cluster yesterday (Tuesday) for offences relating to drugs, stolen property and firearms. The arrests were made during the weekend as police cracked down on crime.
Four of the suspects were arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
On Sunday at about 4.30am, Ezakheni police arrested a 39-year-old man for possession of an unlicensed pistol. Police were following up on information received, which led them to the Machibini area, where they arrested the suspect and seized a 7.65 pistol and six rounds of ammunition.
On Monday at about 4am, Public Order Policing officers working in the Weenen area were following up on information which led them to the Vumbu area. There, they arrested a 36-year-old woman for possession of a 9mm pistol and 13 rounds of ammunition.
This was followed by a second arrest in the same area when a 38-year-old man was found in possession of a .38 revolver. Tactical Response Team (TRT) officers who were working in the Amangwe area added to the arrests on Monday evening at about 7.45pm when they arrested a 35-year-old man. He was found in possession of an unlicensed 7.65 pistol and seven rounds of ammunition.
Eight other suspects were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property and theft.
On Sunday at about 9am, Ladysmith police and K9 Unit officers arrested six suspects for theft of diesel. Police were following up on leads concerning suspected stolen property, which led them to Fairclough Road, where the six suspects were found in possession of 1000 litres of diesel. The diesel was found to have been stolen from a nearby business. The suspects are aged between 28 and 33 years old.
On the same day at about 6.20pm, Ladysmith police received information relating to a suspected stolen cell-phone. Police traced the suspect to Alexander Road and once the suspect spotted police, he ran off. Police gave chase and the 26-year-old was arrested. He was found to be in possession of a cell-phone, which was later found to have to have been stolen.
On Friday last week at about 10pm, Besters police arrested a 27-year-old suspect for possession of stolen diesel. This after security personnel spotted a suspicious-looking vehicle at the Ingula Pump Station and stopped the vehicle. Inside containers on the vehicle, they found 130 litres of diesel. Police were called and the suspect was arrested. The diesel was later found to have been stolen at Ingula.
Two other suspects were arrested for possession of dagga in Estcourt.
On Saturday at about 1.30pm, a 29-year-old man was arrested in Alfred Street, Estcourt, after he was found in possession of a few grams of dagga. On the same day, a second suspect, aged 35, was arrested in Harding Street, Estcourt. He was found in possession of 39 small parcels of dagga, weighing a few grams each. The estimated street value of all the seized dagga is around R1500.
Yesterday morning at about 3.45am, a suspicious-acting 26-year-old man was spotted by Ladysmith police in Agra Road. Upon searching the man, police found 10 pieces of ceramic spark plug which can be used to break into vehicles. The man could not give police a reasonable explanation for having the items and he was arrested for being in possession of house or vehicle-breaking implements. Police will be checking to see if the suspect cannot be linked to theft out of motor vehicle cases in the area.
