Gauteng: Twenty-two rape suspects arrested along with 513 other wanted suspects during this week’s Operation #OKaeMolao #PoliceVisibility
With the focus this Women’s Month on tracing and apprehending suspects wanted for gender-based violence, Police have in different parts of Gauteng successfully traced 535 wanted suspects, 22 of whom are on the list of wanted rape suspects.
An additional four suspects were arrested in Angelo informal settlement for illegal possession of explosives; while seven more were arrested for illegal possession of firearms in Tshwane.
All firearms recovered during the operations will duly be subjected to further ballistic testing to establish linkage to previous crimes.
Detective-raids tracing suspects wanted for various serious and violent crimes including rape, attempted murder, assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm, and hijacking were conducted in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Sedibeng and West Rand districts and yielded 145, 151, 149, 62 and 29 arrests respectively.
One of the wanted suspects arrested in Ekurhuleni was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and suspected stolen property including a SAPS appointment certificate, a medical aid card, different Identity Documents, and police two-way radios. The suspect was linked to a murder case in Tembisa and will still be processed further for possible linkage to other crimes.
In Tshwane, Police were able to forensically link three of the arrested suspects to at least nine cases of trio crimes (hijacking, business and house robberies). Two more suspects were arrested for possession of suspected stolen copper cables with an estimated value of about R35 000; three for possession of dagga and one for dealing with dagga. Seven liquor outlets were closed down and fines issued for non-compliance. AARTO fines issued in Tshwane amounted to R30 900.
During the operations, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela led the members to Angelo informal settlement on a walk-about with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the area and subsequent policing challenges. Earlier in the morning police had arrested four suspects found with copper and explosives. The area is notorious for a high murder rate and illicit mining.
Wrapping the day’s operations, police pounced on Oriental City in Boksburg in search of counterfeit goods. A large consignment of goods was seized and is still being processed to determine the value. This will be combined with the consignment of counterfeit goods estimated at about R3,8 million which were confiscated in Marabastad and Pretoria West in Tshwane District on Wednesday 21 August 2019. Amongst the confiscated goods were different brand replicas of clothing items, shoes, beauty products, cosmetics, and illicit cigarettes.
The Commissioner extended his appreciation to all law enforcement agencies for their unwavering commitment every week during the operations. “It is ultimately our communities who will benefit from everyone’s effort as we jointly fight crime in the Province,” said General Mawela, encouraging the officers to continue the good work.
Commending the partnership-approach to fighting crime and appealing for more private partners to come on board, Gauteng Premier David Makhura recognised the involvement of Tracker, a vehicle recovery company and remarked that, “we are very happy as fighting crime is not something that our law enforcement agencies can do alone. The partnership with Tracker is something we value particularly for the recovery of stolen vehicles. We would like to collaborate more with businesses and other partners, including communities to track down on criminals.”
The arrested suspects will appear before various Courts across the Province; while over 85 undocumented persons taken in at Boksburg and 11 in Tshwane will undergo verification of status in the country.
