Durban — The recent shoot-out between police and suspects in Mariannhill, the arrest of suspects in the Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane murder case, and the arrest of Nongoma Local Municipality officials formed part of the successes achieved by the SAPS in response to serious and violent crimes.
On Sunday, Police Minister Bheki Cele held a press conference about takedown successes of police counter operations.
Cele said the department was confident “deep and meaningful” inroads were being made to fight crime.
He said that a few days ago, the SAPS intercepted armed and dangerous gangs who had left a “reign of terror and fear in their wake”.
“A group of 11 youngsters terrorising the community of Mariannhill in KwaZulu-Natal were intercepted and nine were shot and killed during an arrest,” Cele said.
“Criminals have waged a war on communities and are so brazen that they are testing the authority of the state by attacking police officers,” he said.
“It is on this score that police remain unapologetic in their aggressive and decisive response to crime,” Cele said.
Elaborating on the Mariannhill incident, Cele said the death of any individual in the country, criminal or not, should never be a cause for celebration.
But with some in society doing so, following the takedown of the armed gangs in KZN and Mpumalanga this week, it speaks volumes.
He said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) was there to investigate police actions in such cases.
“We wish to allow those processes to unfold,” Cele said.
On the AKA and Tibz murder case, Cele said: “A breakthrough in the murder case of popular musician Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane has led to the arrest of seven suspects who are before the courts, including the alleged mastermind.”
On the Nongoma Municipality arrests, Cele said: “Senior officials from the Nongoma Local Municipality in KZN – including the municipal manager, CFO and municipal managers – have been arrested and appeared in court, answering to charges related to theft, fraud and money laundering.
“Nongoma has seen the assassination of political office-bearers in the recent past.”
Cele also said that from April last year to date, the SAPS had conducted 1171 intelligence-led takedowns.
He said so far, 3 749 suspects had been apprehended during intelligence-led takedowns. These include 173 for murder, 57 for extortion and kidnapping, 164 for property-related crimes and 269 for vehicle-related crimes.
In addition, 768 have been arrested for possession of illegal firearms, 488 for robberies, 79 for cash-in-transit robberies, 1 510 for drug-related crimes and 214 for illicit mining from April to date during intelligence-led takedowns.
Cele said that while the police aim to arrest suspects, some heavily armed suspected criminals choose to engage the police in gun battles and police would respond accordingly.
“More than 150 such suspects were shot and killed from April 2023 to date,” Cele said.
On kidnappings, Cele said that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) arrested 62 suspects involved in kidnappings for ransom from April to date. Police operations have also led to the arrest of 55 suspects for abducting Chinese nationals in the country.
Over the past 11 months, 109 police officers have lost their lives, Cele said. While most of the officers died while off duty, 36 police officers were killed during the commission of their policing work during confrontations with brutal and armed criminals.
“Through investigative work conducted by the DPCI, 83 suspects have been arrested in connection with the police killings,” Cele said.
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