The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Operation Vala Umgodi has made significant strides over the past weekend, with coordinated crackdowns across several provinces leading to a wave of arrests linked to drug trafficking, illegal mining, and immigration violations.
In the Northern Cape, high-visibility raids and targeted operations by the multidisciplinary Operation Vala Umgodi task force resulted in five arrests for drug-related offences.
In Kakamas, officers raided three properties in the ZF Mgcawu District, seizing crystal meth, Mandrax tablets and dagga with a combined street value of R18,000. Three men, aged between 37 and 51, were arrested and charged with drug dealing. Meanwhile in Phuthanang, Frances Baard District, a 37-year-old suspect was nabbed following the discovery of drugs worth R42,000 and cash suspected to be proceeds of crime. A separate arrest followed in Currey Street, Kimberley, where another individual was caught with illegal substances.
Traffic checkpoints in the Namakwa and Frances Baard areas also saw several individuals fined under the Road Traffic Management Act.
Separately, in Bloemfontein, a suspect linked to a fatal shooting was intercepted and arrested during a Vala Umgodi “way-lay” operation. A 34-year-old Bangladeshi shopkeeper was gunned down at the Best African Shop on Power Street on Saturday evening. The shooter, a 50-year-old Bangladeshi man, allegedly attempted to flee to KwaZulu-Natal but was stopped near Theunissen on the R30. He will appear in court shortly.
Over in Mpumalanga, SAPS continued its clampdown on illicit mining and immigration violations. On 18 May, seven individuals aged 19 to 42 were arrested in Witbank for contravening the Immigration Act after failing to produce valid documents during a routine stop-and-search on the N4 old Pretoria Road.
In a separate sweep in Sabie, six suspects aged 21 to 58 were arrested after officers discovered abandoned illicit mining equipment and dagga worth over R2,000 at Simile informal settlement.
In Limpopo, officers arrested 16 suspects in two separate operations between 16 and 17 May. In Giyani, one individual was caught red-handed at an illegal mining site with a bag of suspected precious minerals, a headlamp, and a shovel. Eleven more were arrested in Malamulele and Giyani for immigration offences. Additionally, in Ga-Chuene Village, Capricorn District, a man was arrested for illegal sand mining after a group attempted to flee a site when officers arrived. A white Nissan truck and six shovels were confiscated. Three further arrests followed in N’wamitwa Village, Mopani District, for immigration-related offences.
According to SAPS leadership across the affected provinces, Operation Vala Umgodi continues to deliver results in its mandate to disrupt criminal networks, specifically within and around mining communities. Whether this momentum can be sustained or expanded remains to be seen, but for now, it’s clear the authorities are making their presence felt.
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