Scores of suspects in court after weekend crime busts

Western Cape police went all out on the weekend to round up a bunch of suspects who will be appearing in court on Monday.

Police spokesperson Col Andre Trout said various operations were conducted and led to several premises being searched.

A blitz on Tshishi Street in Browns Farm on Friday led to three suspects being arrested after a Tracker signal from a stolen Toyota Quantum led police to their location. Though six people escaped, three — aged 21, 28 and 31 — were arrested when they were caught stripping the stolen vehicle.

One of the suspects was armed with an unlicensed firearm and will be charged. Also in Nyanga, an unlicensed firearm was seized from a man who was fatally wounded when he tried to hijack a Toyota Avanza in Govan Mbeki Drive in Browns Farm.

Next to go down was a 30-year-old suspect caught in possession of 94 parcels of dagga after a community tip-off in Delft’s Freedom Farm.

While patrolling Nyanga, the same members recovered a Toyota Avanza which was hijacked in Delft earlier this month, and in Samora Machel they recovered 34 cellular telephones which were stolen during a business robbery in Gugulethu. The suspects all managed to get away.

In Gugulethu members of the Provincial Extortion Task Team pursued information relating to ammunition being stored at a house. The bust resulted in the arrest of a 39-year-old suspect who was caught in possession of 50 x 9mm rounds of ammunition for which he did not have a licence.

Weekend operations also resulted in the arrest of 57 suspects on a variety of charges including murder, attempted murder, possession of firearms and drugs and the seizure of more than 1,200 litres of alcohol from premises operating illegally. A stash of drugs including tik, Mandrax and dagga was also confiscated.

Western Cape provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile said he was pleased with the impact these operational forces were having on crime in the province.

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