Hundreds arrested, stolen firearms, drugs and illicit goods confiscated
Joint police operations conducted in the province this past week resulted in the arrest of over 700 suspects, says the police.
LIMPOPO – Provincial police commissioner Lt Genl Thembi Hadebe has applauded the men and women in blue, for the sterling job in fighting crime in the province. According to a statement issued by police spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said the unrelenting joint operations conducted by the police continue to bear fruits following the arrest of 791 suspects, aged between 23 and 65 years of age.
The operations which were conducted from Saturday, June 19 to this morning, resulted in the seizure of over R2 million worth of drugs, various illicit goods and the recovery of stolen firearms and ammunition.
The arrested suspects face charges ranging from possession and dealing in drugs, murder, attempted murder, rhino poaching, possession of illicit cigarettes, robberies, rape, sexual assault, robbery with a weapon other than a firearm to burglaries at both business and residential premises.
Mojapelo highlighted a few of the successes this past week:
In the Capricorn District, a tip-off about a drug smuggling operation in Polokwane led to the arrest of four suspects and the seizure of over R2 million. “A well-coordinated operation targeting the prevalence of drugs in Limpopo was conducted on Thursday, June 24 and Friday, June 25 following the receipt of information about suspects using courier services to smuggle drugs. This led to the arrest of four suspects, aged between 45 and 52, and confiscation of 2kg of cocaine, 2.5kg of Heroine and 100g of Crystal Meth”
Read more: Drugs worth more than R1,5 mil seized in Polokwane
Mojapelo said the one suspect was arrested in Polokwane and three in Gauteng. “Two of the suspects are foreign nationals,” he added.
Meanwhile in the Waterberg district the a joint operation led to the arrest of five suspects, between the ages of 34 and 46 years old, in connection with poaching of rhino. The joint operation was conducted by the Limpopo Endangered Species Unit, Bushveld Crime Investigation Unit and Welgevonden Reaction Team.
Mojapelo explained that the three suspects had conspired with two employees from a private game reserve to shoot and dehorn four rhinos between January and June this year. “The reserve emplyees had allegedly assisted the poachers to gain entry and provided information about the location of the rhinos.”
During the arrest the police confiscated several firearms and ammunition as well as knives.
In Mokopane, a tip-off to the police resulted in the arrest of a 40-year-old male foreign national for possession of illicit cigarettes with an estimated street value of R30 000. The man was arrested at his home and five boxes of Remington Gold, two boxes of Chelsea and a box of Phoenix cigarettes were found and confiscated.
Another intelligence-driven operation in the same area led to the recovery of firearms and ammunition that were reported stolen after a robbery at a farm in the Sterkrivier area. During the operations the police arrested and 31-year-old man and confiscated one Magnum rifle with a magazine, a short gun, 50 rounds of 2.5 rifle ammunition, 79 rounds of 303 rifle ammunition, 24 SSG rounds, 21 rounds of short gun ammunition, 29 rounds of 303 empty cartridges, 82 rounds of 2.2 ammunition and 20 rounds of slug ammunition. The seized firearms and ammunition is estimated to the value of R60 000, Mojapelo said.
In Vhembe, the police arrested two people on Saturday, June 26 after they were found to be transporting illicit cigarettes. “The police stopped a Mercedes-Benz Vito at the truck park along the N1 road north of Musina at around 21:00 and searched it. During the search the members found 60 boxes of Remington Gold illicit cigarettes.”
All the arrested suspects will appear in the relevant magistrate’s court soon.
