With the festive season upon us, the Free State police have stepped up, intensifying their efforts to ensure a safe and secure festive season for all residents and visitors. The “Safer Festive Season Operations” have resulted in the arrests of more than 1 262 people throughout the province in the past week.
The Safer Festive Season Operations involved intensified policing across key areas, including communities, major roads, taxi ranks and crime hotspots. The operations aimed to tackle a wide range of criminal activities such as theft, robbery, assault, drunken driving, gender-based violence, and illegal activities such as illicit mining and drug-related crimes.
Heightened police patrols took place across the province, with officers deployed to both urban and rural areas. Police had 170 high-visibility patrols and 1922 routine patrols. During these patrols, 258 premises, 10 294 persons and 4212 vehicles were searched. Members visited 80 second-hand dealers, issuing 18 notices. To intensify visibility in the rural areas, 643 farms were visited.
One of the notable successes is a 56-year-old man who was arrested in Ficksburg for the illegal possession of explosives and ammunition. Members reacted to information and found a large quantity of ammunition, explosives, and other military-grade equipment suspected to belong to the SAPS and SANDF. A large number of R1 and R5 ammunition, stun and smoke grenades, pencil flares, thunder flares and hand signal smoke was seized during the operation.
In order to address specific crimes prevalent during the festive season, police have closed 12 unlicensed liquor premises and inspected 429 of them. The police will continue their inspections at taverns, liquor outlets, and second-hand goods stores to ensure compliance with regulations. The police, in collaboration with health authorities, recently conducted foodborne inspections at 885 tuck shops across the Free State. As a result, six were found to be in violation and were closed. Several fines were issued for people sleeping in the shops, expired food and other contraventions.
With an increase in holiday travel, road safety remains a top priority. SAPS, in collaboration with all stakeholders, conducted 21 roadblocks and 61 vehicle checkpoints. During this week 41 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and several fines were issued for road traffic violations. Police are also working with other entities to address the illegal crossing of immigrants to and from Lesotho with tightened measurements in place. This week alone, police have arrested 149 illegal immigrants in the Free State. A lady was also arrested at Ficksburg Port of Entry, where she was in possession of 42 passports that did not belong to her. All the passports were having Immigration Ficksburg Port of Entry stamps in them to enter South Africa.
Detectives continued with tracing operations and apprehended 344 wanted suspects and individuals who had evaded justice.
“The Safer Festive Season Operations will run throughout the holiday period and will intensify as we approach the peak of the season. The SAPS is committed to reducing crime and ensuring that the Free State remains a safe province for residents and tourists alike. We urge all members of the public to work together with the police and help make this festive season a crime-free one. Your involvement and support are crucial in ensuring the success of these operations,” said the Provincial Commissioner of the Police in the Free State, Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane.
