A total of 302 people were arrested for various crimes in the Mitchell’s Plain SAPS cluster from Friday June 23 to Thursday June 29.
The cluster includes Mitchell’s Plain, Lentegeur, Strandfontein, Steenberg, Grassy Park, Lansdowne, Athlone and Philippi police stations.
The police executed search warrants, conducted high density patrols and visible policing as well as stop-and-searches.
Sixty houses were searched for drugs and 1079.8.1g of dagga, 186 mandrax tablets, 354g of tik, 172g of heroin and 12 bundles of khat were confiscated.
Crimes against women and children remain a top priority for SAPS with a total of 62 suspects arrested for domestic violence cases. To prevent drug and alcohol abuse which often results in assault, assault with the intention of committing grievous bodily harm (GBH), child abuse and domestic violence, nine shebeens were searched and more than 401 litres of liquor were confiscated.
The police also arrested 10 people for dealing in liquor.
The police conducted three roadblocks which resulted in 60 fines for traffic violations valued at R64 000. A total of 2 986 people and vehicles were also stopped and searched during 82 vehicle check-points.
Twenty-seven suspects were also arrested for being in possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
Other suspects were arrested for crimes ranging from house breaking and theft, theft of motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, robberies, drunk driving, murder, possession of dangerous weapon and traffic violation.
Thirteen people were arrested for drug dealing in Atletiek Street in Beacon Valley on Friday June 30 at 11am. This was during a special operation in Mitchell’s Plain.
The police found 33 stops of dagga, 41 packets of dagga, three whole Mandrax tablets, 11 and a half Mandrax tablets and R220 cash.
A man, 26, was arrested for being in possession of a bag of stolen copper pipes in Deborah Close in Tafelsig on Tuesday June 20 at 3.30pm.
Mitchell’s Plain police spokesperson Captain Ian Williams said the police have received reports of stolen water meters recently.
“We are calling on the community to report all incidents of theft and damage to state-owned property. This is a serious crime which is prosecutable.
“These thefts have a negative impact on the economy. The theft of copper cables often results in loss of service delivery as services have to be suspended for example the trains and telephone lines,” he said.
Captain Williams said the police is appealing to residents to safeguard public services and report criminals without delay.
“Often damages run into hundreds of thousands of rands when thieves damage expensive equipment to get at copper that will ultimately be sold for a few rands. We need to take ownership of our public spaces. If services are disrupted because of theft or damage, then we all suffer,” he said.
Three men, one aged 26 and two 36, were arrested for robbery on the corner of Spine and Weltevreden roads in Rocklands on Friday June 30 at 5am. They had posed as passengers and stopped a taxi on its way to the Town Centre and jumped inside.
As the driver was about to drive off, the one suspect pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the driver. “They then searched and robbed the passengers and driver before running away. The robbers made off with two cellphones, a driver’s licence, bank cards as well as cash of R600,” said Captain Williams.
The police made enquiries in the area and managed to track down all three suspects.
The suspects face a charge of robbery with a firearm and will appear in court soon.
