EASTERN CAPE - SWIFT ACTION BY POLICE LEADS TO OVER 800 ARRESTS IN 1 WEEK

“In our quest to address trio crimes such as house and business robberies, car and truck jacking, we have increased vehicle patrols during specific times according to crime patterns. In the same vein we urged our members to be vigilant and to follow through on any person or vehicle observed under suspicious looking circumstances. This has paid off during the last week and signification breakthroughs were made. A new dynamic was also confirmed, when in two incident, foreign nationals were found to be involved in crimes aimed at other foreign nationals,” said the Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, Lieutenant Gen Liziwe Ntshinga.

On 19 April 2017, Mqanduli police arrested a foreign national involved in a gang with five other suspects targeting the shops of foreign nationals. This breakthrough was made due to the alertness of two police members on patrol. On the same day, a 24-year-old Pakistani man, who was kidnapped for a ransom of 1 million rand as well as a demand that he and his family close all their businesses, were found by police without injury.

A Police task team followed up on information received from our intelligence operators which led us to the rescue of the victim and the arrest of a 26-year-old male suspect.  After he was questioned, it came to light that he was paid by two men to kidnap the victim. Police followed several leads which led them to belief that the two suspects were on their way to the King Shaka International Airport. They were arrested by our members at the airport on 20 April 2017. The three men will appear in the Lusikisiki Magistrates court today on charges of kidnapping and illegal possession of a firearm. Their possible involvement in other crimes in the area is being investigated.

Swift response by members of the Port Elizabeth Flying Squad on 20 April 2016 also led to the arrest of 10 suspects and the recovery of a hijacked truck when the hijackers were off loading about R200 000-00 worth of nappies in Korsten. A signal jammer was also recovered inside the truck.

“Our Back to Basics approach is bearing fruit when good old fashioned police work is done correctly and consistently. In addition, we arrested 821 suspects and confiscated 28 firearms during last week, which is evident of our dedication to fight tooth and nail against criminals, she concluded.

VIA - saps