DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal police arrested more than 9 000 suspects, including those accused of murder, rape and robbery, in various operations conducted in March.
Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said police embarked on numerous multidisciplinary operations last month.
Gwala said the aim was to reduce the high levels of crime, particularly contact crimes, in all 11 districts in the province.
She said various operational concepts were undertaken in targeted areas that had specific crime threats.
“A total of 9 169 suspects were arrested for various crimes. Police managed to arrest 198 suspects for murder, 157 for attempted murder, 291 for robberies, 259 for rape, 2 033 for assault, 289 for burglary and 1 568 suspects were arrested for drug-related crimes,” said Gwala.
KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi commended police officers across the province for their commitment to rooting out criminality.
“These results are an indication that criminality will not be tolerated and ordinary citizens are working with police to clean up their neighbourhoods,” said Mkhwanazi.
During these operations, Gwala said large quantities of drugs including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, crystal meth and dagga were seized by police.
She said counterfeit goods, including cigarettes, were also seized during police operations while stolen property including 205 vehicles was recovered by police.
“Another 43 vehicles were seized after they were used in the commission of crimes,” said Gwala.
According to Gwala, police also seized 282 firearms during these operations.
Among the firearms seized were 16 home-made firearms, 237 revolvers, 15 rifles, nine shotguns and five semi-automatic firearms. A total of 2 897 rounds of ammunition were also seized during operations.
Livestock such as cattle, donkeys, goats and sheep were also recovered by police.
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