Police hail 'bad buildings' raid in Hillbrow a success after 25 arrested

Police arrested 25 people following raids on a number of hijacked buildings in Hillbrow, downtown Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

The task team aimed to look for criminal elements and check whether municipality by-laws are being contravened.

Metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar described the operation as a success.

"We conducted a joint operation, 'Bad Buildings', in Hillbrow, where 124 individuals were taken in for questioning. Out of the 124, 21 were illegal immigrants," he said.

"There were three arrested for [possession of] illegal ammunition and a home-made rifle. There was one suspect arrested for selling liquor without a licence."

Minnaar said the focus of the operation was on hijacked buildings, which often harbour criminals.

"This operation was a success in that we were able to sift out criminals in possession of firearms and ammunition, and also we were able to track undocumented foreign nationals," he said.