Police Make Over 200,000 Arrests During Festive Season Crackdown
More than 1,700 illegal miners have been arrested in Stilfontein since August 2024, with more than 120 already deported.
Among those arrested, 80 Mozambicans, 30 Basotho nationals, 10 Zimbabweans and one individual each from Congo and Malawi have been sent back to their home countries.
National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola provided an update on Sunday on the successes registered during their safer festive season operations.
He said the operations which commenced on October 11 2024 and ended on January 31 had resulted in the arrest of 244,951 individuals.
Masemola confirmed that the process to identify the illegal miners who had died underground in Stilfontein was still under way.
“The department of health forensic pathologists are busy with the autopsies with the assistance of the police victim identification centre (VIC) where fingerprints and samples for DNA analysis are being collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis,” he said.
He said the teams have collected DNA samples from the human remains, fingerprints and buccal samples from some family members who had come forward.
On the escape of alleged Stilfontein underground kingpin Neo James Tshwaeli, also known as “Tiger,” Masemola, Masemola said a specialised team of experienced detectives and crime intelligence operatives were investigating.
He said their efforts have so far resulted in the arrest of four police members who are part of Operation Vala Umgodi, which is aimed at curbing illegal mining.
“The members have been removed from this operation and internal departmental proceedings are under way.”
According to Masemola, since the inception of the operation in December 2023 , more than 18,000 suspects have been arrested, illegal immigrants being in the majority.
He confirmed that police were still conducting patrols and guarding disused and abandoned mine shafts in Stilfontein and other hotspot areas.
To date, Masemola said, 458 firearms and 12,000 rounds of ammunition had been seized during Vala Umgodi operations across the country.
“283 trucks, 303 vehicles, and 84 big machinery are also among the confiscations from illegal mining operations. Over R5m in cash and uncut diamonds worth R32m have been seized,” he said.
The festive operations saw more than 2-million patrols carried out, with more than 4,600 roadblocks and 620,000 stop-and-searches conducted and more than 2-million people searched.
“More than 78,000 licensed liquor premises compliance inspections were executed together with more than 12,000 compliance inspections at firearm dealers and private security premises,” Masemola said.
He said 6,547 unlicensed liquor premises were shut down throughout the country during this period.
A total of 4,501 individuals were arrested for murder and attempted murder, while 3,983 suspects were apprehended for rape and attempted rape.
In addition, 10,042 individuals were arrested for illegal liquor dealings, and 25,950 illegal immigrants were apprehended for being in the country without proper documentation.
A total of 2,198 illegal and unlicensed firearms were seized and confiscated during operations. These included 1,731 handguns, 154 homemade guns, 211 rifles and 102 shotguns.
Masemola noted that the majority of firearms seized were in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
“Firearms remain a big problem in South Africa as most serious and violent crimes including murders are committed with the use of a firearm,” he said.
Masemola said from October 2024 to date, nine on-duty and 12 off-duty police officers have been killed.
He said 30 police killers were arrested during the festive season with seven convicted and sentenced to a total of 22 life terms and an additional 725 years’ imprisonment.
