More than 1 000 busted in police operations
Those nabbed were arrest during O Kae Molao operations conducted in Tshwane and other neighbouring municipalities in the province.
More than a 1 000 people were arrested in operations conducted by police in the province at the weekend.
Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said 1 400 people were arrested during the operations with 344 of them nabbed for contravening the national disaster management act regulations.
In Mamelodi a total of 48 people were arrested during an O Kae Molao operation led by provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela and other senior SAPS officers.
They were reportedly arrested contravening regulations related to adjusted level 3 of the national lockdown, including transporting liquor, drinking in public (inside a taxi), failure to wear a mask in a public place, failure to confine to a place of residence during curfew and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Another 92 people were arrested by the officers who were led by Mawela as they sought to balance crime combating and enforcing lockdown regulations.
Masondo said the crimes included possession of stolen vehicles, possession of drugs, dealing in drugs, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and rape.
“Parallel operations were led by the district commissioners in Ekurhuleni, West Rand, Johannesburg and Sedibeng where more people were arrested for contravention of the disaster management act along with other serious and violent crimes,” he said.
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Another two people who were nabbed for selling liquor in Orlando and Noordgesig, in Soweto, were among 50 others who were nabbed for non-compliance in the Johannesburg area.
“More than 290 other suspects were arrested for crimes related to possession of drugs, common assault, malicious damage to property, contravention of existing protection order, reckless and negligent driving, possession of stolen motor vehicle, pointing of firearm, tampering with essential infrastructure, theft, possession of suspected stolen property and business robbery.
About 200 people were also arrested for contravening the disaster management act regulation by driving while under the influence of alcohol during an O Kae Molao operation focused mainly on rural safety in the West Rand district.
During stop-and-search operations and disaster management act enforcement operations, at least 300 people were arrested for crimes which included murder, armed robbery, stock theft and possession of stolen property.
“More than 46 suspects were in Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng for contravention of regulations while 330 suspects were arrested for house robbery, business robbery, common assault, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, possession of drugs, reckless and negligent driving and malicious damage to property in a domestic violence related case,” Masondo said.
Those arrested were expected to appear in different magistrate’s courts from Monday.
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