By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
More than 820 suspects were arrested for various crimes during Operation Shanela. The suspects were amongst others, arrested for rape, murder, assault GBH, malicious damage to property, burglary residential and business premises, possession of drugs, theft out of/from motor vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The North West police spokesperson, Lieutenant Col Amanda Funani said out of 820 arrested suspects, 288 were wanted for contact crimes such as murder, attempted murder, rape, assault with intent to do Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), assault common and other crimes such as house robbery and business robbery.
Funani further said 388 suspects were held during detective suspect raiding operations. She added that 108 suspected undocumented persons were taken in for processing.
“The arrests were effected through execution of several actions, which included stop and searches, road blocks, patrols, vehicle check points, visiting and inspecting of licensed liquor premises, second-hand goods dealers and tracing of wanted suspects, among others.
“The operations also culminated in the confiscation of a variety of drugs, dangerous weapons, explosives, four ammunition, a firearm, liquor and six vehicles. During the operations, three illegal liquor outlets or shebeens were shut down,” said Funani.
Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, applauded the police, units and other law enforcement agencies for successful operation Shanela that resulted in the arrests of 820 suspects for various crimes in the province between 22 and 28 July 2024. Kwena thanked the law enforcement agencies for always putting first the safety of people and for dedicating their time to Operation Shanela.
The Guardian 