Police shut down 270 illegal shebeens and taverns in KZN over Easter

The South African Police Service (SAPS) cracked the whip this Easter, a total of 541 illegal shebeens and taverns were shut down by police across the country during the Easter long weekend. Of these, 270 were shut down in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

A total of 757 suspects who were found dealing in illegal liquor were also arrested - 270 were arrested in KZN, while 144 were arrested in Mpumalanga and 142 arrested in Gauteng. A total of 1 166 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs during that period - 265 of them were arrested in Mpumalanga.

A total of 1209 suspects who were found to be in possession of drugs were arrested - 393 of them were arrested in KZN. Also, 249 suspects were arrested for dealing in drugs and the Western Cape registered the majority of those arrested, with 61.

“Just this past week alone, a total of 17 605 suspects were arrested through Operation Shanela.” SAPS said in a statement. “Police officers across the country remain hard at work in preventing, combating and investigating crime. Through various interventions and take-downs, police operations led to the arrest of 3 662 wanted suspects for rape, murder and attempted murder among a host of other serious and violent crimes. Of these, 215 suspects were arrested and charged for rape. The majority of those arrested for rape (67) of them were apprehended in KZN.”

Over and above these, the following arrests were made across the country:

• 145 murder suspects were arrested and the majority were arrested in Gauteng (30).
• 129 suspects were arrested for attempted murder;
• 1 574 suspects were arrested for assault grievous bodily harm;
• 110 suspects were arrested for being in the illegal possession of firearms, majority of these suspects were arrested in KZN (35)

Police registered the following:

• 128 firearms were confiscated in the past week;
• 4 220 rounds of ammunition were confiscated;
• 87 hijacked and stolen vehicles were recovered during last week’s operations.

“Police will continue with their operations by asserting the authority of the state to ensure the safety and security of all South Africans and visitors to the country,” SAPS said.