Teen who ‘lied’ about kidnapping, over 1 500 others arrested in Limpopo

Police in Limpopo have arrested 1 574 people for various offences in joint operations conducted across the province during the past week until Monday.

Among them is a 14-year-old girl who was arrested on a charge of perjury after she allegedly opened a false case of kidnapping at the Tzaneen police station on Friday.

The teenager told police she and her friend, a pupil at Meridian College in Tzaneen, were walking from school when unknown people driving in a white panel van grabbed her friend and forced her inside the vehicle.

The matter was prioritised and treated with urgency, only to establish that the story was fabricated, said police spokesperson Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that there was never a kidnapping and she was not even with a friend.”

Various offences

The other people, aged between 19 and 57, were arrested for various charges including murder, attempted murder, robbery, rape, sexual assault, assault and sexual offences, as well as the contravention of regulations under the Disaster Management Act and Road Traffic Act.

The operations were conducted through roadblocks, stop-and-searches, tracing of wanted suspects, raiding of illegal businesses and intensive patrols.

Police managed to confiscate illicit cigarettes, dangerous weapons, dagga, nyaope, firearms, knives and liquor. Domestic violence cases were also attended to.

Members of the Endangered Species Unit and local police, assisted by private security companies, arrested three people, aged between 25 and 45, for poaching in Vaalwater near Lephalale.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba welcomed the arrests.

The 14-year-old was charged with perjury and released into the custody of her parents. The matter was referred to a social worker for further assessment.

The other arrested people have already started appearing before different magistrate’s courts across the province.

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