The provincial police spokesperson, Adéle Myburgh, explains that the arrests were made from 19 December 2022. 

“With more boots on the ground to heighten visibility, police in the province in conjunction with other security forces have been working hard to ensure that members of the community are and feel safe,” she adds. 

The breakdown of the arrests made, includes 309 suspects arrested for drug-related crimes; 618 for contact crimes (including murder, attempted murder, assault, rape and other sexual offences); nine for truck hijacking; 13 for robbery with aggravating circumstances; 64 for house burglaries; 111 for malicious damage to property; 30 for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; 32 for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition; 1 041 for liquor-related cases (drinking in public, drunk in a public place, illegal dealing and distribution of liquor); 74 for contravention of the Domestic Violence Act; while 143 undocumented persons were taken in for processing by immigration officials. 

"During the operations, 26 stolen/robbed vehicles were recovered and 22 dangerous weapons were amongst the items seized."

ALSO READ: North West robber gets 15 years jail sentence

Myburgh concludes that the provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena commended law enforcement for the successes, and pointed out that the operations will continue to ensure the well-being and safety of all citizens through the enhancement of police visibility. 

Meanwhile, a 55-year-old male was recently sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Stilfontein Regional Court for the theft of R3 million from Nedbank's Klerksdorp branch. 

The sentence follows after the Hawks arrested the accused, Welcome Marcus and his accomplice in 2018. 

Hawks spokesperson, Tlangelani Rikhotso, said they first appeared in court facing charges of theft and were released on bail worth R30 000. Marcus made several court appearances while the case was later dropped against the second accused, Charles Anthony Scheepers. 

The accused and his accomplice were disguised as security officials when they robbed the bank on 11 April 2018. However, the pair were arrested in Johannesburg on 13 May 2018 following investigations.

ALSO READ: North West cash-heist suspect remains in police custody

In a more recent and ongoing case, a cash-heist suspect is set to remain in police custody after he appeared before the Wolmaransstad Magistrate’s Court on 9 January 2023. The 29-year-old Khumo Maleshane was arrested on 5 January 2023, just hours after a cash-in-transit robbery about 5km from Wolmaransstad.  

According to Rikhotso, the accused was arrested in Potchefstroom around 15:00 after he was found in a vehicle that allegedly fitted the description of one of the vehicles at the crime scene. He was also reportedly found in possession of a bag with over R60 000 in cash.

OFM News