Greenbelt blitz
Police are engaged in a massive clean-up of the town’s many greenbelts: the known hideouts and springboards for housebreakers.
RESPONDING to urgent pleas from crime-ridden Richards Bay residents and business owners, police are engaged in a massive clean-up of the town’s many greenbelts: the known hideouts and springboards for housebreakers.
In a 12-hour operation on Thursday, beginning at 4am, members of various police units combed through numerous open space bush areas in town.
The combined operation, led by a number of senior officers, included members from the SAPS Operational Response Services division, CRG, Northern Region Protection Services and Votela Security, Richards Bay Visible Policing and Detective Unit and the K9 Unit.
Their sweep and search for criminals and stolen goods proved fruitful as they marched from Alton North through Bluegum Park, then to the undeveloped area between ZCBF and Wildenweide – including behind the oft-targetted Dollar Drive businesses, before moving to Meerensee.
They also visited a number of residential hot spots.
Pledge honoured
A total of 47 individuals encountered were interviewed for possible links to crimes, one of whose fingerprints matched warrants in KwaMbonambi and Mkhuze, the latter related to possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Various dangerous and stolen objects were also recovered.
‘We have listened to the voices of the community at various stakeholder engagements and are reacting to their complaints about greenbelts,’ said Richards Bay Station Commissioner, Brig Brenda Mgenge.
‘We are serious about the pledge we made to address their problems.
‘Most reported residential and business break-ins have been committed via greenbelt access and we are determined to flush out the criminals who move and sleep in these areas.
‘If we hit them hard enough and often enough, this will be a deterrent to would-be criminals.’
