256 arrested in Operation Okae Molao in Alberton
Law enforcement officers joined forces to keep Alberton free of crime as they have noticed that crime in the area keeps on increasing more especially property crimes.
Two hundred and sixty-five suspects have been arrested for a variety of crimes as a result of police efforts to combat various crimes in the Ekurhuleni District on March 23.
Operation Okae Malao brought together members of the Department of Community Safety, community patrollers and Social Crime Prevention from every Ekurhuleni West Police Station.
According to the SAPS district commissioner, Major General Anna Sithole, they have to ensure that citizens abide by the South African laws and are responsible for ensuring that everyone in the vicinity lives by those rules. As SAPS, they will go over and beyond in fighting crime in the area.
“We chose to move the operation to Alberton because we saw an increase in car theft, home and business robberies and other crimes,” said Sithole.
Detectives conducting their suspect-tracing Operation Okae Molao from March 22 arrested 246 suspects, of whom 152 they took into custody for contact crimes, 42 for other serious crimes, 13 for property crimes and another 13 for crimes which needed police action.
Sithole oversaw the operations where 73 traffic fines totalling R29 400 were issued to motorists, 14 illegal immigrants apprehended, three suspects detained for dealing and possessing dagga, one for possessing drugs and one for possessing copper. They issued two fines totalling R4 000 for non-compliance with regulations regarding used goods.
“As the district of Ekurhuleni, we decided to support the station commander of Brackendowns, as we know that SAPS has this operation throughout the Gauteng province regularly,” Sithole said.
The crew patrolled the area around the schools in Brackendowns, paying particular attention to students who opted to skip classes or arrive late for class.
The second step took the team to the Thinasonke informal settlement, where the convoy engaged with the locals while patrolling the area and distributing brochures with information about gender-based violence and crime prevention advice.
Sithole thanked the teams for their contributions and proudly announced that, while members were operating, they reported no serious crimes in Brackendowns.
