Cele visits Gauteng as 97 arrests are made at roadblocks in province

Police Minister Bheki Cele’s latest visit to Gauteng came on a weekend when 97 arrests were made at various roadblocks across the province.

Cele was joined by Gauteng MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko, Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, and Chief of Tshwane Metro Police Department Johanna Nkomo. 

Arrests made at Gauteng roadblocks at 97 for the weekend

The police minister led a delegation of senior managers from the security forces including the SANDF and immigration officers from the Department of Home Affairs, as they made stops at various roadblocks and hotspots in Mamelodi East, Eesterust, Nellmapius and Silverton.

“A total of 97 suspects were arrested on various contraventions of the Disaster Management Regulations, while police also recovered an illegal firearm at one of the roadblocks,” said SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters.

“The contraventions included: possession of an illegal firearm; exceeding the permitted loading capacity where one taxi had 22 passengers including children; transporting passengers with no valid permits; selling of liquor; failure to confine to place of residence; and possession of drugs.”

According to police a firearm was seized from a taxi that approached the roadblock with only the driver and no passengers on board. After the unlicensed firearm was found the driver confessed that he had been carrying travellers who had no permit and dropped them off before the roadblock.

The man was arrested for possession of the illegal firearm, and police say further investigations will be undertaken to establish whether the gun could be linked to any previous violent crimes.

Cele implored on Gauteng police and law enforcement agencies, not to neglect back routes and farm routes during the operations. There is reason to believe that those impounded taxis made it through to Gauteng from Limpopo via back routes without being noticed by security forces.

Cele says ‘sell alcohol and we will take your fridges’

During the weekend’s operations, law enforcement also pounced on a tavern that had previously been raided on a tip-off during the week and arrested two men for selling liquor in contravention of the lockdown regulations.

“It is, for this reason, that police must seize the instruments utilised during the commission of crimes and violations. Failure to confiscate instruments such as fridges, crates, and liquor creates an opportunity for a repetition of the same violation,” said Cele.

Cele urged police and other security forces to remain vigilant as South Africa prepares to move to stage four of lockdown. He stressed that stage four is still lockdown and most of the regulations remain in place, though law enforcement can expect more traffic on the roads.

“Police should however not let their guard down and become complacent [amid] complaints from some quarters that it is still business as usual in places like Mamelodi East.”