A crime operation yields positive results


Picture: Police conducting stop and search operation/Supplied

By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

25 May 2026 – A crime combating operation was repeated at Orkney taxi rank, CBD and surrounding areas, including Klerksdorp, to address trio crimes, illegal immigrants, high density illicit drug hotspots, illegal firearms, targeted liquor outlets and scrap yards to disrupt criminal activities on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. During the operation, five search warrants were executed and five men were arrested for contravening the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002.

The North West police spokesperson, Sergeant Kelebogile Morake said a man (22) was arrested for drunk and driving, three fines were issued for selling counterfeit goods (cigarettes) and a fine amounting to R8000 was issued for employing an illegal immigrant. Morake said liquor and scrap yard premises were also inspected to ensure compliance with their operating conditions.

“The operation was successfully conducted by members from various units, including Provincial Anti-Gang Unit, K9 Unit, Tactical Response Team (TRT), Firearms Liquor and Second-hand Goods Control (FLASH), Crime Intelligence Overt Operations, Provincial Corporate Communications and Liaison, the State Security Agency, and Department of Home Affairs,” she said.

Meanwhile, the acting North West Police Commissioner, Major General (Dr) Ryno Naidoo, commended the police for their vigilance, discipline and commitment in upholding the law. Naidoo said operations of this nature are critical to maintain order, protect communities and to ensure that all persons within the province are subject to the laws of the country.

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20 undocumented Lesotho nationals nabbed in Kimberly during Operation Vala Umgodi


By OBAKENG MAJE 

More than 20 undocumented Lesotho nationals aged between 24 and 49, were arrested on Friday during the multi-disciplinary Operation Vala Umgodi at Samaria Informal Settlement in Kimberly. The police in Northern Cape allegedly went out in full swing to address issues of undocumented persons, illegal firearms, drugs and illicit mining. 

The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Molefi Shemane said the police also confiscated liquor from unlicensed liquor outlets, which were regarded as ‘generators of serious crime’ in the area. Shemane said this resulted in the arrests, as well as fines for illegally dealing in liquor, were issued to two South African men aged 33 and 40. 

“Numerous tools and equipment believed to be used in the commission of illicit mining activities were also confiscated,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Northern Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, commended the collaboration between the different Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Clusters in intensifying the fight against illicit mining activities in the district. 

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