Port Elizabeth - Police conducting special crime prevention operations in the run-up to the launch of the festive season have arrested 16 wanted suspects in Port Elizabeth overnight, Eastern Cape police said.
They were wanted for various crimes ranging from robbery, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harms (GBH), and malicious damage to property, to theft and drug-related cases, Captain Andre Beetge said in a statement on Saturday.
They would all appear in the Motherwell and New Brighton magistrate's courts on Monday.
During the operations, a stolen motorcycle, seven knives, a toy gun, 14 Mandrax tablets, and various amounts of dagga were confiscated. Four taverns were also closed by South African Police Service (SAPS) officers and their electricity was cut by Nelson Mandela metro electricity department officials after they were found to have tampered with electricity supplies. Fines totalling R85,000 were issued to them, Beetge said.
During the operations, Motherwell policing cluster operational command centre (OCC) officers also arrested two suspects following an attempted murder in Walmer earlier in the evening where a man was shot and wounded. The white Quantum minibus used by the suspects was found in Tonjeni Street in Zwide at 11.30pm.
Further investigation led police to arrest two suspects in Kula Street, Zwide. A 24-year-old man was arrested at 0.30am for the attempted murder and a 23-year-old man was arrested after he was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm, a 7.65 pistol with three rounds of ammunition, at 2.45am. Both would appear in court on Monday, Beetge said.
Motherwell policing cluster deputy commander Brigadier Lungisile Manyana applauded the arrests and successes, saying "crimes committed with firearms and the role that alcohol plays in crimes in general will remain SAPS focus areas. We will tighten the grip around criminals and together with our community partnerships we will create a safe and secure environment for all our communities".
African News Agency/ANA