PRKTOWN – The police in Gauteng stamped the authority of the state as they continued to carry out their constitutional mandate of ensuring safety and security for the citizens of the province and squeeze the space for criminals.

Over the weekend, the police together with other law enforcement agencies embarked on different crime prevention operations throughout the province, including the multi-disciplinary Operation O Kae Molao which seeks to deal with any form of criminality.

During the operations, more than one thousand and four hundred fifty suspects were arrested for various crimes such as possession of unlicensed firearms, dealing in drugs, possession of suspected stolen property, murder, attempted murder, rape, robbery, assault GBH and contravening the Immigration Act. Most of the arrested suspects were wanted and arrested during the suspect tracing operation which is the first phase of Operation O Kae Molao conducted by the Detectives Units.

The Provincial Commissioner of the police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela led the operation that was held in Johannesburg District at Ennerdale while District Commissioners continued with the operations at their respective districts.

The operation also saw police make various confiscations of unlicensed firearms, drugs, illegal mining equipment and liquor taken from liquor outlets operating without a license and contravening the Liquor Act.

Some of the suspects have been released after paying fines, while others are expected to appear before various Magistrates court across the province starting from 26 September 2022.

Source: South African Police Service