There were incidents of public violence, looting and property damage in several districts in the Free State this week.
In Vredefort, police said a large-scale disturbance led to the looting of 20 shops and damage to one police vehicle. Officers arrested four suspects for public violence and one suspect for malicious damage to property due to the vehicle damage.
In Petrus Steyn, five stores were targeted by looters, leading to the arrest of ten suspects.
Three suspects were arrested in Odendaalsrus after businesses were targeted by looters.
In Tumahole, nine shops were looted and four house robberies took place on properties rented by foreigners. In the Sunrise View area of ​​Thabong, seven shops were looted and two police vehicles were damaged. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
Police said they organized a three-day multi-disciplinary operation in parallel with containing the disturbances, during which 2,153 arrests were made. This included the detention of 581 undocumented immigrants.
Approximately 505 buildings were visited, including companies and craft shops. The police have imposed 582 fines for drinking offenses.
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