THE Richards Bay SAPS arrested a further 11 loiterers on Thursday morning in a raid operation targeting greenbelts and scrap dealerships in town.
Two men were also arrested attempting to sell copper and were charged with possession of suspected stolen goods.
So far, a total of 131 suspects have been apprehended in ongoing pre-dawn drills (started a month ago), which have also seen ‘trolley pushers’, suspected illegal immigrants and individuals in possession of stolen property, drugs and housebreaking implements locked up.
The SAPS has made astounding breakthroughs through these exercises, having linked two suspects to murder and two to rape cases reported over the past five years in Richards Bay, eNseleni and Mtunzini.
There were also suspects tied to robberies, house break-ins and theft.
‘The success of the raid operations was made possible through the collaboration of our SAPS Crime Prevention, Detectives, Canine Unit, Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC), Immigration, Fingerprint Unit and CRG Security,’ said Richards Bay spokesperson Captain Debbie Ferreira.
‘We will continue these operations to prevent and cut criminal activities in this area.’
