Midrand police target illegal Spaza shops

Gauteng Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni said contact crimes such as assault with grievous bodily harm (GBH), property-related crimes, as well as theft of motor vehicles and out-of-motor vehicles, were rife in Midrand.

Mthombeni said this during Operation Shanela on Blue Hills’ R55 Road, leading to Summit Road and Olievenhoutbosch respectively.
Both lanes were closed and authorities mounted a huge roadblock leaving traffic heavily affected on July 25.

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He said they also closed seven illegal tuck shops in various suburbs including Halfway House and Glen Austin.

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“As of July 24, with the environmental health department, our pre-operation focused on the issue of tuck shops that sell expired items and those without relevant trading licenses. During that operation, we managed to close down seven of those shops in Halfway House and Glen Austin. All the shops were owned by foreign nationals,” said Mthombeni.

He said during the operation 68 illegal immigrants were arrested, and people were urged not to hire or house foreign nationals who do not have the relevant documents.

“Other crimes in [the] Midrand policing precinct, include the theft of motor vehicles and motorbikes. This area is troubled by truck-jacking, as well as house robberies. We are here to address those issues and stamp the authority of the law,” added Mthombeni.

He said the team was still on the lookout for illegal liquor outlets operating in the area because they want to ensure that they ‘walk the walk’ in a bid to fight crime.

Asked by the paper regarding the concerns of closed-down shops returning to trading after a short time, he said authorities need to ensure that they constantly raid those kinds of shops, and make sure they stay closed.

ALSO READ: Operation Shanela sees the closure of unlicensed liquor outlet in Midrand

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