The South African Police Service (SAPS) continues to implement its nationwide crime prevention and combating operations, which has resulted in the arrests of 16 648 suspects for various offences in recent days.
These crime-fighting interventions conducted between 09 and 15 March 2026 which yielded successes across multiple provinces, included tracking down and apprehending 2 048 wanted individuals linked to murder, attempted murder, carjacking, rape, assault grievous bodily harm (GBH), house and business robberies.
Among these arrests is a suspected gunman who allegedly shot and killed Marius Van Der Merwe (Witness D) a key witness in the Madlanga Commission of inquiry, in Johannesburg on 14 March 2026. The team seized the vehicle which was allegedly used in the commission of the crime.
In dismantling an insurance murder-for -payout syndicate, police arrested six more suspects on 10 March 2026. The suspects are linked to a R10 million insurance scam led by the alleged mastermind a former police officer Rachel Kutumela. The arrests included relatives of Kutumela and a sangoma.
A seventh suspect, Rachel Kutumela’s other brother, Robert Shokane handed himself over to the police, bringing the total number of arrests to 11.
During these operations, a devastating blow was struck against those destroying the economy through the illicit trade.
“Police seized large quantities of illicit cigarettes worth an estimated value of R25 million during a raid at a warehouse in Nirvana area, Polokwane and arrested a 39-year-old Indian national believed to be facility manager. Furthermore, 14 suspects were also arrested for possession of illegal cigarettes,” said the SAPS in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, counterfeit goods worth R80 million were confiscated in a two-day operation in Musina and Thohoyandou in Limpopo. Law enforcement raided 33 shops and seized 171,418 counterfeit items including clothing, shoes, jewellery and consumables.
Other arrests include the apprehension of 137 suspects arrested for murder , 125 suspects arrested for attempted murder, 121 suspects arrested for rape of which the majority of the arrests were made in Gauteng (35). A further 1 586 suspects were arrested for assault (GBH) while 642 individuals were nabbed for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs among others.
When coming to confiscations and recoveries, police seized 194 unlicensed firearms and 3 888 rounds of ammunition among others. -SAnews.gov.za
