Eight people‚ including suspected murderers and drug dealers‚ have been arrested in a series of police raids carried out in the violence-wracked Johannesburg suburb of Westbury.
Police in a statement on Saturday said the arrests were made during an intelligence-driven operation‚ which was carried out on Friday night.
The eight are believed to be on the 20 most wanted people list that Police Minister Bheki Cele announced earlier this week. Cele made the announcement during a visit to the area days after the murder of Westbury mother‚ Heather Petersen‚ who was caught up in the crossfire of rival gangsters.
Police spokesman‚ Captain Kay Makhubela‚ said four of those arrested were caught in connection with the murder of 31-year-old Bradley Saul‚ who was killed in July.
He said Saul had been accused of killing the son of one of the arrested suspects.
"The other four were arrested for being in possession of and dealing in drugs‚" he said.
Makhubela said during the operation police seized drugs and a firearm.
He said the arrests and recoveries were made as part of the police's "intensified efforts to make sure the communities' cries against drug dealings and gangsterism are acted on".
Westbury residents this week took to the streets in a violent protest over the police's alleged failure to arrest criminals who have been terrorising the community for years.
