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More than 9 000 suspects were arrested for murder, rape, robberies and carjacking and KwaZulu-Natal police seized 325 firearms during May.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said relentless operations by officers in the province led to the arrest of 9 016 suspects.
“A total of 2 620 suspects were arrested for contact crimes, 155 of them were nabbed in connection with cases of murder and 122 more suspects were bust after they were linked with cases of attempted murder.
“With murders committed with the use of firearms having shown signs of increase in the province, targeted operations at intelligence-identified areas were conducted and a total of 325 firearms, inclusive of 29 rifles and 19 shotguns, were removed from society. Over 3 000 rounds of ammunition of various calibre were also recovered,” Netshiunda said.
Netshiunda added that the war against bender-based violence (GBV) has also been intensified.
“The police’s efforts in curbing the scourge has resulted in the arrests of 213 suspects for rape, 27 people were nabbed for sexual assault whilst seven more suspects were arrested for attempted rape. Nine suspects were also put behind bars for sexual offences.
“Investigators from the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units (FCS) across the province have been hard at work and more than 11 life imprisonment sentences were attained in May. 149 more people were arrested as a result of contravention of the Domestic Violence Act,” he said.
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He added that 57 suspects were arrested for house robberies, 20 for carjacking and 33 for business robberies.
“On contact crimes, 1 245 suspects were arrested for cases of assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. 624 knives, 28 machetes, 21 fighting sticks and 2 axes were seized in the process. On the stock theft front, 17 suspects were arrested for theft of all stock. 31 cattle, 24 goats and nine sheep were recovered.
“Drugs have also been identified as one of the contributing factors in the commission of crime. Dedicated teams of detectives and visible policing have managed to arrest 1 577 suspects for drug-related crimes and 34 people were also arrested for kidnapping,” Netshiunda said.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said high-density operations had become a norm and police would continue to “create a safe and secure environment for all residents of KwaZulu-Natal and visitors.
“Criminals cannot do as they please, lawlessness cannot be the order of the day and no one can walk all over us as law enforcement officers. We have a constitutional mandate to combat and prevent crime and that should be in our minds every time we report for duty.
“No area is a no-go area, no-one is untouchable and we must make our presence felt. We must enforce the law to a point where criminals run out of breath,” said Mkhwanazi.
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