Mpumalanga province’s Overall Friday initiative around Secunda and Embalenhle on 26 April 2013 has led the police to several successes that include among others the arrests of wanted suspects, confiscation of stolen property and arresting of motorists driving under the influence of liquor.
Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe has welcomed the successes made calling on the police to continue strengthening their relations with the community so that they can succeed in their endeavors to eradicate crime.
Shongwe, who joined one of the operations targeted at liquor outlets, says police need to work hard to ensure that they clamp on liquor outlets not complying with their trading licenses.
Police have also confiscated counterfeit goods such as 30 cell phones, 159 cell phone accessories, 336 DVDs and CDs, 201 facial cream tubes, 11 sports bags, 33 sunglasses and 87 cartons of cigarettes.
The police also recovered stolen goods which were linked to various house robberies in the area and they included among others two laptops and two boxes of jewellery. Small quantities of cocaine, dagga and alcohol were also seized.
Two suspects were also arrested for being in possession of drugs, seven people were also arrested for public drinking, and nine motorists were nabbed for driving under the influence of liquor. 61 summonses were issued for various traffic violations, six vehicles were discontinued for being unroadworthy.
Other successes included the serious reduction in all aspects of crime around Secunda and Embalenhle were recorded on the weekend of 27 to 28 April 2013 due to law enforcement visibility.
This, the MEC, believes, is a clear indication that Overall Friday Campaign is making an impact in fighting crime.
“Although crime cannot only be reduced by high police visibility, we believe that programmes such as Overall Friday, contribute significantly in eradicating crime in communities,” Shongwe said.
The operations included; road blocks, raiding of liquor outlets, cordon and search and tracing of unwanted suspects in and around Secunda and Embalenhle.
The Overall Friday campaign is an initiative by the province which involves stakeholders such as SAPS, provincial and local traffic officers, SARS and Department of Home Affairs to deal with all sorts of crime in identified areas.
Enquiries:
Joseph Mabuza
Tel: 013 766 4055
Cell: 082 678 1450
