close-up of man holding knife smeared with blood and still dripping.
By BAKANG MOKOTO
More than 250 suspects were arrested in North West during the provincial Suspects Raiding Operation (SRO) for various crimes ranging from murder, rape, assault with intent to do Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), sexual assault and attempted rape.
North West police spokesperson, Lieutenant Col Amanda Funani said out of 252 arrests, 129 were for contact crimes. Funani said the other suspects were nabbed for other crimes such as malicious damage to property, contravention of protection order, theft, burglary residential and business, and stock theft.
“The suspects were arrested at all four districts within the province. Most of them have already appeared in courts within the province, while others are expected to appear on Monday.
“In one of the arrests for murder and robbery, two suspects aged 23 and 30 are expected to appear in the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with a brutal murder. It is alleged the two suspects fatally stabbed Elizabeth Kgope (38) in the early hours of Wednesday morning, while visiting SASSA offices in Hebron,” she said.
Funani added that Kgope was visiting SASSA offices to register her one-month-old baby when she was accosted by suspects. She said the suspects robbed her of her handbag before fleeing the scene.
“The matter was reported to the Hebron Police Station and the suspects were subsequently arrested after an intensive investigation. They were successfully traced and arrested in Soshanguve during the operation,” she said.
Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena commended detectives for the arrests and indicated that operations such as this will continue to ensure that criminals are apprehended.
The Guardian 