Intensified onslaught against lawlessness will ensure safe and peaceful elections in the platinum belt, North West Premier Thandi Modise said in welcoming the arrest of 30 suspects and seizure of an assortment of dangerous weapons including firearms at the Sondela Informal settlement near Rustenburg on Saturday.
Premier Modise has expressed confidence that with the deployment of the army and additional police officers in hotspots areas, violence and acts of intimidation will be stamped out.
“We call on our communities to report acts of criminality, intimidation and any attempts to stop them from exercising their right to vote,” Modise said.
According to police, the suspects were arrested during a search conducted in the early hours of the morning, aimed at confiscating dangerous weapons including illegal firearms, closing down shebeens, seizing illicit drugs and arresting wanted suspects and illegal immigrants.
"A number of dangerous weapons.. such as knives, knobkerries, pangas, spears and steel pipes were seized," Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.
"Dagga with an estimated street value of R5000 was confiscated. Liquor worth more than R3000 was also seized."
Police also recovered a firearm.
Ngubane said that Sondela situated near the Jabula hostel of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and the mine's Khuseleka shafts was a hotspot for contact-related crimes within the Rustenburg area.
"It is experiencing a number of violent murders, in which firearms are commonly used. Shebeens are also a common sight in this community," he said.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Tel: 018 388 3705
Cell: 083 629 1987
Fax: 018 388 3157
E-mail: LKgwele@gmail.com
