Gauteng premier David Makhura has commended law-enforcement agencies in the province for the “swift” arrests of 460 suspects.

The arrests were made during Operation Okae Molao on Wednesday night and Thursday morning‚ for crimes ranging from rape‚ murder and assault to housebreaking and hijackings. The crackdown took place in Johannesburg‚ Tshwane‚ Ekurhuleni‚ Sedibeng and on the West Rand.

The provincial government said 168 suspects were arrested in Ekurhuleni‚ with five wanted for murder in KwaZulu-Natal.

In Tshwane‚ 107 people were arrested‚ in Johannesburg 105‚ in Sedibeng 46 and on the West Rand 44.

“I applaud the police for apprehending these criminals‚ who have been terrorising our communities‚ and for restoring law and order on our streets. We will continue to work hard to rid our society of crime and build safer communities‚" said Makhura.

Law-enforcement agencies in Gauteng were conducting impromptu anti-crime operations daily to curb criminal activities‚ he added.

Operation Okae Molao forms part of a commitment made by Makhura during his state of the province address (Sopa) to strengthen specialised units for priority crimes such as gender-based violence‚ hijackings‚ house and business robberies‚ drug offences‚ and murder.