Police lockdown operation in Tshwane yields 97 arrests
The operation was led by the Minister of Police Bheki Cele and Community Safety MEC, Faith Mazibuko on Saturday night.
The Covid-19 police operation held by Police Minister Bheki Cele and Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko, in the east of Tshwane on Saturday evening, yielded great results with 97 people being arrested and an illegal firearm recovered.
Police Ministry spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said as the country gears up for level 4 of the nationwide lockdown set to begin on 1 May, the police minister continues to visit provinces to assess enforcement and adherence to the Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
“On his latest visit to Gauteng on Saturday evening, Minister Cele, joined by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, and Chief of Tshwane Metro Police, Chief Johanna Nkomo, led a delegation of senior managers from the security forces including the SANDF and immigration officers from the Department of Home Affairs, as they made stops at various roadblocks and hotspots in Mamelodi East, Eersterust, Nellmapius and Silverton.”
Peters said a total of 97 suspects were arrested on various contraventions of the Covid-19 disaster management regulations, while police also recovered an illegal firearm at one of the roadblocks.
“The contraventions included possession of an illegal firearm, exceeding the permitted loading capacity – where one taxi had 22 passengers including children, transporting passengers with no valid permits, selling of liquor, failure to confine to a place of residence and possession of drugs,” she said.
At one of the roadblocks, a taxi arrived with only the driver and no passengers.
“Police conducted a thorough search of the vehicle and found several bags which the driver claimed were his. On searching the luggage, police recovered an illegal firearm in one of the bags. It was only at this point that the driver confirmed that the luggage belonged to several unknown passengers whom he had dropped off as he approached the roadblock in an attempt to avoid trouble with the law. According to the driver the passengers allegedly had no permits for their movements.”
Peters said the man was arrested for possession of an illegal firearm. Further investigations will be undertaken to establish whether the firearm could be linked to any previous violent crimes.
During the operation police also pounced on a tavern that had previously been raided on a tip-off during the week.
“Indeed, police arrested two men for illegally selling liquor in contravention of the lockdown regulations,” she said.
“It is, for this reason, that police must seize the instruments utilised during the commission of crimes and violations. Failure to confiscate instruments such as fridges, crates, and liquor creates an opportunity for a repetition of the same violation,” Cele said.
Cele implored on Gauteng police and law enforcement agencies, not to neglect back routes and farm routes during the operations, especially with illegal movement of vehicles between Gauteng and Limpopo, as there is reason to believe that those impounded taxis made it through to Gauteng from Limpopo via those back routes, without being noticed by security forces.
Minister Cele commended the leadership of the security forces on deployment in Gauteng. He attributed the compliance levels to effective situation-appropriate deployments and heightened police visibility.
“Police should, however, not let their guard down and become complacent in the midst of complaints from some quarters that it is still business as usual in places like Mamelodi East,” cited Cele in the anticipation of increased movement of persons and traffic on the roads as from 1 May when level 4 lockdown kicks in.
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