Long arm of law secures nearly 650 arrests

The Police in Limpopo can boast another successful weekend of intelligence-led operations that resulted in the arrest of 646 suspects.
Adding to the effective arrests Police also confiscated firearms, suspected stolen vehicles and large quantities of drugs worth millions of Rand.
Provincial Police Spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe indicated that the suspects are aged between 23 and 62 years and face charges ranging from murder, attempted murder, business and house robbery, armed robbery, residential and business burglary, rape, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition to possession of drugs and suspected stolen properties, fraud, impersonating a Police officer, contravention of the Migration Act to driving under the influence of liquor and operating an unlicensed liquor outlet.
The operations comprised various Police units from the provincial, cluster and station level and were conducted in an effort to stabilise and normalise crime infested areas through roadblocks, stop and search operations, tracing of wanted suspects and raiding of unlicensed businesses including liquor outlets, according to Ngoepe.
During the arrests Police confiscated 14 firearms, four toy guns, 158 rounds of live ammunition, 13 motor vehicles, 38 cell phones, three plasma televisions, three laptops, R4 300 cash, three music systems and a variety of drugs including 67 sachets of nyaope, eight sachets of rocks and 92 plastic bags of dagga.
Other items such as groceries, a wheelbarrow, a crowbar, a mattress, bedding, clothes, knives, a door frame, fake driver’s licences and Police appointment cards were also recovered, according to Ngoepe.
He highlighted one of the incidents where two suspects were arrested by the cluster tracking team in partnership with a private security company in connection with multiple cases of burglaries in the Tzaneen area.
It is believed that the suspects, aged 24 and 27 years, have been terrorising communities for some time. During the arrest Police confiscated a variety of suspected stolen cell phones and a television.
Ngoepe reiterated that the origin of all the recovered vehicles, firearms, ammunition and other items is still being investigated.
The suspects are expected to appear in various courts across the province.
Acting Provincial Police Commissioner Jan Scheepers commended Police members involved in the operations and expressed satisfaction with the substantial number of arrests made.

Story: RC Myburgh
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