GEORGE NEWS - Nearly 500 suspects were arrested across the Garden Route District, mainly George, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and Oudtshoorn, between Friday and Sunday, 4 and 6 June.
According to Southern Cape police spokesperson, Capt Malcolm Pojie, this weekend's operations included high visibility patrols in crime-stricken areas, stop and search operations with a special focus on drug and liquor outlets, illegal firearms, the tracing of wanted suspects and the confiscation of dangerous weapons.
"Concerted efforts by police in the Eden Cluster and the strategic deployment of integrated forces on the ground ensured that 489 suspects were arrested," he said.
Of these, 424 were arrested for reported crimes ranging from petty crimes to non-compliance with the Contravention of Disaster Management Act (DMA) Covid-19 regulations and other serious crimes. Of those arrested, 18 were wanted suspects.
Meanwhile, integrated forces pounced on nine illegal drug outlets in their respective areas over the weekend and confiscated a considerable amount of dagga and Mandrax. All these illegal outlets were closed.
"This weekend's successful integrated crime combating operations saw 838 people and 192 vehicles searched, five traffic fines issued to the amount of R3 400 for traffic violations and defective vehicles, and 76 fines to the value of R74 200 issued for the contravention of the DMA," said Pojie.
Eden Cluster Commander, Maj-Gen Oswald Reddy, commended all members for their vigilance in bringing these perpetrators to book. He reiterated that although seemingly insignificant for some, these police-initiated interventions indeed prevented other serious crimes such as murders, robberies, serious assaults, domestic- and gender-based violence from being committed.
He also appealed to the community to adhere to the Covid-19 protocols to prevent the transmission of the virus, including the adherence to the curfew that applies from 23:00 to 04:00.
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