successes
23 July 2007
Over the past week, the South African Police Service (SAPS) arrested five
Gauteng individuals, all in connection with drug peddling, and seized a variety
of drugs and other items as a direct result of tip-offs from the community to
Primedia's Crime Line.
The types of drugs involved were dagga, ecstasy, cat, cocaine, tik and LSD.
The areas targeted were Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Turffontein and Centurion. In
the Centurion case, information was received of drug dealing at a complex in
Highveld. When police raided the address, over R16 000 worth of drugs were
seized and one male was arrested. Another drug tip-off resulted in two people
being arrested at a panel beating business in central Johannesburg and almost a
kilogram of dagga being seized.
Over R80 000 of stolen property was recovered by the SAPS over the past
week, one television set and two vehicles. One of the vehicles, which was found
in Eshowe after a tip-off was forwarded to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police, a blue
Toyota Hi-Ace minibus, had been robbed from the owner in South Coast Road,
Montclair, KZN on 10 July 2007.
Even when actual arrests are not made, SAPS members are still reacting to
tip-offs and some interesting cases were reported over the past few days. One
tip-off indicated that a child was being neglected in Eldorado Park, Soweto.
When police arrived on the scene they were horrified to find the body of a
stillborn baby on a tea tray. The circumstances of the birth are being
investigated.
In Benoni, when police members reacted to a drug possession tip-off, it was
discovered that the tipster was a concerned father. A small quantity of dagga
was found in his son's possession on the premises. After interrogating the
youth and confiscating the dagga, police released the child into the custody of
his father. Hopefully, this intervention on the part of a parent and the
police, via Primedia's Crime Line, will ensure that the youngster will never
again experiment with an illegal substance.
In Nigel on the East Rand, a tip-off of an illegal firearm at particular
premises yielded nothing more than a toy gun, but the SAPS appreciates that the
tipster was probably convinced that the firearm in question was the real deal.
We have also noted that tips are beginning to come in from all over the
country. Over the past few weeks, besides the vast number of information coming
in from all over Gauteng, we have received useful tip-offs from Nyanga,
Philippi and Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, Burgersfort in Mpumalanga and
Eshowe in KwaZulu Natal.
The latest successes bring the total number of arrests to 67 since the
launch of Crime Line on 7 June 2007. Over R1 million worth of stolen property,
mostly vehicles, has also been recovered.
The public can SMS Crime Line anonymously on 32211 or go to http://www.crimeline.co.za.
Media enquiries:
SAPS Director Sally de Beer
Cell: 082 779 8658
Primedia
Natasha Wadvalla
Cell: 084 374 3467
Issued by: South African Police Service
23 July 2007
Source: South African Police Service (http://www.saps.gov.za)
