Gauteng police commissioner lieutenant-general Elias Mawela descended on Mamelodi to lead operation Okae Molao to unsettle criminals committing a trend of hijackings and violent crimes in the township.
Mawela said the operation began on Wednesday with the police going all out to trace and arrest 830 suspects wanted for various crimes while staging roadblocks on busier roads like Tsamaya Road this morning.
A team of multidisciplinary law enforcement officials which included Gauteng and Tshwane traffic officers and vehicle tracking security officers stopped and searched vehicles and people and found two cars where engine registrations were tampered with.
Mawela said: "This is a revamped Operation Okae Molao here in Mamelodi where we have seen the township has a problem of hijackings and other violent crimes like assault, common assault and gender-based violence.
"This is a problem here in Mamelodi so we felt that we need to come here and assert the authority of the state and to also assure the residents that we are aware of what is happening here and we will ensure that we maintain law and order.
"One person was arrested for dealing in drugs and five undocumented foreign nationals were also arrested and they will be dealt with accordingly."
"Tsamaya Road is the main entry and exit road for Mamelodi so we know that people who hijack vehicles use this road and also Solomon Mahlangu which is not as bad as this one.
"The criminals use this road to exit because they try to avoid visibility and they will attempt to use this road to move around from one township to another."
Mawela said the police were also proud of the operation because of the 830 suspects, 200 of the suspects were wanted for cases of gender-based violence and femicide - something troubling the country right now.
Mawela deployed police officers to go around the township and enforce Covid-19 compliance and also monitor that liquor traders were not contravening the disaster management act as per the regulations laid out by the government.
Motorist Sifiso Motaung said: "It is good to see the top brass of the police come here and enforce the law because our township is in the hands of criminals right now. Every night we hear gunshots blazing and you do not know if they are hijacking cars or robbing pedestrians."
Pretoria News