VANDERBIJLPARK.- Police flooded the streets of Vanderbijlpark on Saturday night for a major Operation Shanela blitz, stopping motorists, searching vehicles and cracking down on crime.
Gauteng provincial police bosses teamed up with Sedibeng Cluster management, law enforcement agencies and local Community Policing Forums to target criminal activity in the area.
Barrage Road became a hive of police activity as officers pulled over vehicles and checked for traffic violations and other offences.
The high-profile crackdown comes amid growing concern over violent crime, following a deadly tavern robbery in Malbank, near Barrage, where one person was shot dead and two others wounded.
Speaking to Ster, Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni said Vanderbijlpark continued to face several crime challenges, including assault, murders, business burglaries, housebreaking and vehicle theft.
Mthombeni revealed that Operation Shanela had already achieved major results across Gauteng since it started on Friday. Police arrested 697 wanted suspects across the province, including 187 linked to gender-based violence.
The Barrage Road operation alone saw 26 people arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, 19 undocumented foreign nationals detained, and six suspects nabbed for drug-related offences. Furthermore, about four allegedly illegal liquor outlets were shut down during the operation, which targeted crime hotspots to ensure motorists and businesses complied with the law.
Meanwhile, police have launched a manhunt for four suspects allegedly involved in the armed robbery at the Malbank tavern. The suspects reportedly stormed the establishment, leaving one person dead and two others wounded.
Police have opened cases of murder, attempted murder and robbery as investigations continue, with no arrests made in connection with the tavern attack at the time of publication.
