GAUTENG police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela led Operation Shanela in Meadowlands, Soweto, alongside senior SAPS management and other law enforcement agencies.
The operation held on Thursday, 30 November, was aimed at strengthening the arm of the station commander in Ndofaya.
The team visited several shopping centres around the area and walked into different stores and engaged with the store management about safety measures.
“We have realised that criminals are targeting businesses which is why we took a tour around the businesses, meeting business owners and sharing security advice to assure them that we will forever be on the ground to assist them in stamping the authority of the state and assisting the local police stations with the reduction of crime,” said Mawela.
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During a roadblock, 47 undocumented foreigners were arrested, eight people were arrested for dealing with drugs and five shebeens were closed.
Before the operation, there was an intelligence lead operation in Meadowlands sone 6 where a certain scrapyard was visited and a lot of vehicle parts from stolen cars were recovered and removed from that space.
Mawela told Daily Sun that the owner of the scrapyard unfortunately escaped the arrest of officers.
“He is known, and we will find a way to trace him,” he said.
Highlighting the province's achievements, Mawela reported that detectives had arrested 1 078 known and wanted suspects, including 228 for gender-based violence (GBV) cases.
He called on the public, especially those on social clubs to be more vigilant while sharing their groceries and money.
“Sharing of the money can be done electronically instead of withdrawing money and then sharing it in hardcore cash,” he said.
Those buying groceries have been warned to avoid buying cheap food. They've been advised to check if the food that they'll be buying in bulk is good for human consumption and is not expired.
