As fatal shootings continue unabated in the Western Cape, police said that the SANDF’s deployment to gang hotspots has led to more than a thousand arrests in three months.
After being launched in April, Operation Prosper, which brings together the South African Police Service, SANDF, and the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement agencies, was deployed to 17 high-crime precincts across the province.
However, since the deployment, more than 40 people were killed in suspected gang-related shootings across the province.
Western Cape police Spokesperson Andrè Traut said that 1,054 suspects were arrested for murder, attempted murder and firearm and drug-related crimes during Operation Prosper interventions in the last three months.
Traut said that police also confiscated firearms, ammunition, drugs and illegal alcohol while shutting down 47 unlicensed liquor outlets.
He said that since the deployment, there have been reductions in several categories of serious and violent crime.
“The operation continues to focus resources on identified crime hotspots and ongoing intelligence-led interventions aimed at reducing violent crime.”
A review of reported shootings since April indicates at least 40 people have been killed across the province since April.
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Carlo Petersen
www.ewn.co.za