STELLALANDER-VRYBURG: The weekly Joint Law Enforcement operations focusing on enhanced crime prevention and combatting conducted across all five districts between Monday, 12 and Sunday, 18 May 2025, under Operation Shanela, resulted in the arrest of suspects for different crimes and the seizure of copper cables, a variety of drugs, liquor, dangerous weapons and ammunition.
The operations, which were led by commissioned officers, resulted in the apprehension of 65 illegal migrants for contravention of section 49 of the Immigration Act, 2002. 356 out of the 1 056 arrests were for circulated wanted suspects who were nabbed after being linked to the committed crimes through forensic DNA leads.
The suspects included 161 arrested for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and common, eight for murder and attempted murder, 12 for rape and attempted rape, 26 for burglary business and residential, 51 for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 147 for possession of drugs and 32 for illegal dealing in liquor. As part of the operations, actions such as vehicle check points (VCP’s), stops and searches, foot and vehicle patrols, compliance inspections at second hand dealers, scrapyards, recyclers, private security, firearm dealers, formal and informal businesses and farms were executed. In Mahikeng a crime intelligence-driven operation resulted in the arrest of four suspects in Magogwe, Montshiwastad and Setlopo villages on Thursday, 15 and Friday, 16 May 2025, for three separate cases of robbery, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and theft, which were allegedly committed between December 2024 and April 2025. In another intelligence-led operations executed by Mahikeng K9, on Friday, 16 May 2025, three suspects, including a Nigerian foreign national were arrested for possession and dealing in drugs. The suspects were arrested at Bradford Park taxi rank in the Central Business District (CBD) and Mahikeng dumping Site. The team confiscated drugs that comprised rock cocaine, crystal meth and khat with estimated street value of R41 000. The Acting Provincial Police Commissioner of North West, Major General Patrick Asaneng indicated that community leaders, parents and civil society need to work closely with the police in addressing the pandemic of drugs especially the highly toxic nyaope which is destroying mostly the youth. It is no longer pure conjecture that more and more of the country’s youth have become not only drug addicts, but also drug mules and slaves of drug dealers who are mostly illegal foreigners. These drug peddlers are apparently aided and abetted by technocrats, government officials and residents who allow them to enter the country illegally or with fraudulent papers, allow them to operate illegal businesses such as hair salons, cellular phone repair shops and worse rent out accommodation including in some instances government owned buildings / houses from which they commit the most of heinous crimes against citizens. In every town, village or township, at traffic intersections, shopping centres and malls including even at Universities there are multitudes of young people whose lives have been destroyed by drugs.
