The ongoing Operation Shanela which focuses on the reduction of contact and violent crimes in hotspots, resulted in 1085 arrests in the Free State in the past week.
The police continued, in conjunction with various stakeholders, to execute various actions, which included roadblocks, stop-and-searches, searches at premises and tracing operations. The aim is to address priority crimes in the province through pro-active policing and tracing operations in order to bring wanted suspects before court.
During this operation, 217 premises and 2 169 vehicles were searched. Police visited 212 licensed liquor premises, 74 second-hand dealers and 42 scrapyards. The police also conducted compliance inspections at informal businesses and 594 farms visited in conjunction with other stakeholders.
Police traced 441 wanted suspects and brought them before court again. In all these actions, 115 undocumented persons were arrested.
One of the major successes was when members arrested three men who tried to sell stolen rifles in Wesselsbron. Six firearms that were stolen at a farm house were seized and one of the suspects was found in possession of a revolver.
In Bloemfontein, two men were arrested with dagga in Harvey Road at a vehicle checkpoint and they seized 22 litre plastic bags containing dagga.
In Ficksburg, police arrested seven people at a Meqheleng local tavern and found them in possession of unlicensed firearms, ammunition, housebreaking implements, suspected stolen properties and their vehicle was subsequently seized. Two pistols with ammunition were found hidden in the vehicle of the suspects. Police also arrested 11 people for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Police conducted 15 roadblocks throughout the province, and one of them took place in the Glen Policing area. Members from various units in Mangaung Metro held a roadblock on R30 near Glen on Wednesday 24 January 2024. The objective of police action was to intercept the movement of stolen property, illicit drugs, contraband goods, searching for wanted suspects, illegal firearms and ammunition and enforce other laws such as National Road Traffic Act 93/96. In total, 180 vehicles and 210 people were searched during the roadblock. One (1) 41-year-old male was issued a fine for driving a motor vehicle without a valid license disk.
High-density Operation Shanela nets 1 085 arrests this past week in the Free State Province https://t.co/VAJgIfgbi1 #ArriveAlive #Crime @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/One9P4Dnwn
– Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) January 30, 2024