UPDATE: Moot police raid mountain to flush out criminals
The Moot police took their crime fighting operation to the mountain in Rietondale.
Law enforcement agencies joined hands to fight crime across the capital recently even scaling the mountain to flush criminals where they hide.
Sergeant Rhina Moseki of the Moot police said criminals would flee up the in Rietondale mountain after house breakings.
“On Saturday, the police went to the mountain because criminals often hide there. We did this operation in an attempt to prevent crime in our area,” Moseki said.
On Friday, officers from four police stations, the Tshwane metro police, Gauteng traffic police and members from community police forum (CPF) came together to man roadblocks across the city and visited some high crime areas.
Police spokesperson captain Coba Brits said the main goal of the joint operation was to maintain a high visibility.
“It’s a Friday, it’s payday and it’s the start of the long weekend. It’s thus important for the police to be visible for the public’s own safety. The goal is definitely to prevent crime.”
About 104 members from different law enforcement agencies joined the operation and focused on drunken driving, drug abuse, drug dealing and liquor outlets that did not comply with the law.
“Different operations will be held throughout the weekend,” Brits said on Friday.
Captain Sarel Strydom, operational commander at Lyttelton police station said it was important to address petty crime.
“Ignoring petty crime, can lead to the decay of an area… lead to serious crime,” he said.
At the end of the operation many arrests had been made.
In the Sunnyside police station area, 30 people were arrested.
“These are people who claim to be car guards, but 90% of common robberies are associated with them,” said Tshwane central cluster spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Molefe.
Sunnyside police also confiscated counterfeit CDs worth R6 955 from a night club.
“The nightclub was actually licensed to operate as a restaurant so it was closed down for non-compliance with the liquor act. Later, 19 000 illegal MP3 music files were found from the same nightclub. The value of the MP3s is estimated at R95 000,” said Molefe.
The Garsfontein police made 14 arrests for petty crimes.
In Menlo Park the police had received complaints in the last few weeks, about robberies at a popular entertainment spot in the area.
According to police the area was known for public drinking, illegal trade in alcohol and illegal gambling.
On Friday night, police visited the area but found it quiet and suspect the people had been tipped-off about the blitz as people found a lot of alcohol hidden in rubbish bins around the spot.
Captain Coba Brits said the alcohol was confiscated.
He said the police aimed to maintain a high visibility in the area to effectively deal with the problem.
He also urged robbery victims to report the crime to the police. “The police struggle to build a suspect profile on only one or two cases. The more cases against the suspect, the better.”
Brits warned residents to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings.
Also read:
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