Gauteng police have carried out almost 1 000 arrests in different areas of the province for various offences, including stolen vehicles and drug possession.
Spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said the police in Pretoria Moot reacted swiftly after receiving information about a truck delivering drugs. The truck was spotted on Nico Smith Drive and 12 packs of CAT were confiscated.
A 34-year-old man was arrested for possession and dealing in drugs. Peters said the value of the recovered drugs was yet to be determined.
In a separate operation in the Johannesburg district, a 33-year-old suspect was arrested also for the possession of drugs. This after the police acted on a tip-off that the drugs were in a complex in Winchester Hills, Mondeor.
Peters said the suspect was expected to appear in the Booysens Magistrate's Court on Monday.
In the West Rand District, an illegal drug laboratory on Deelkraal farm was busted leading to the arrest of a man, while another is on the run.
"These arrests relating to drug dealing form part of over 960 arrests that were made this past weekend as the Safer Festive Season operations across Gauteng gain momentum.
"More than 400 suspects will appear before various courts in the Tshwane District facing various charges. Roadblocks manned by the South African Police Service, Gauteng provincial traffic and Tshwane metro police departments saw fines issued for traffic offences, while some suspects were arrested for possession of stolen vehicles, illegal firearms, drugs, and other suspected stolen property," Peters said.
Meanwhile in Ekurhuleni, 452 suspects were arrested for various crimes. During the operation, a suspect was arrested in Springs following a high-speed car chase where the suspect allegedly pointed a firearm at the police, Peters said.
Liquor inspections resulted in six shebeens being shut down in Pretoria Moot and Douglasdale.
Peters said four illegal firearms were seized during the operations.
"These arrests and confiscations are meant to serve as a warning to criminals that the police will over this festive season, flood the streets of Gauteng to ensure a safe festive season for law-abiding residents of the province," she added.
Source: News24
