Springs policewomen took Women’s Month seriously and made several arrests at a roadblock held in Welgedacht Road, Welgedacht on Friday.
The purpose of the roadblock, held between 11am and 1pm, was to search for drugs, illegal firearms, suspected stolen vehicles and dangerous weapons.
Springs police spokesman Capt Johannes Ramphora says a few men tagged along to assist the women if need be.
He is proud to say that within 15 minutes after the roadblock was set up with the necessary signs, these women made their first arrest.
They arrested three illegal immigrants aged 20, 21 and 24 years.
These suspects were found with mining explosives, allegedly used in illegal mining activities.
“We had to move the white Toyota bakkie away from the scene and called the SAPS Explosives Unit to assist,” says Ramphora.
Not long after this arrest, the women stopped a bakkie overloaded with groceries.
After checking the vehicle’s licence disc with their new monitoring device, the police discovered the licence disc to be a photocopy and false.
Ramphora says even the registration plates showed up as non-existent on the monitor.
The driver of the vehicle and his passenger could not provide any proof of who the vehicle belongs to, therefore, they were arrested for possession of an unlicensed vehicle.
The operational commander Col Elsie Malapane says they also arrested three people for driving without a licence.
Malapane and her team, which included Brig Tembeka Gwebushe, the station commander, are very proud of the roadblock initiative.
“This project proves that policewomen can stand their ground in any situation,” she says.
