Patekile said he is resolved to rid communities in the Western Cape of the illegal firearms that contribute to violent crimes.
“With illegal firearms off the streets, the province’s communities will be safer,” he said, adding he would drive intensified policing initiatives with community involvement.
In the past week, 30 illegal firearms and rounds of ammunition were seized and several arrests were effected in operations undertaken throughout the Western Cape.
Meanwhile, 13 men between the ages of 22 and 47 are expected to appear in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Monday in connection with the raid on a luxury car dealership in Cape Town a week ago.
The suspects were arrested in tracing operations executed over the weekend. They are facing business robbery, malicious damage to property and extortion charges.
TimesLIVE
Time to get illegal guns off our streets: New Western Cape top cop after spate of murders
Image: 123RF/Roger Lamkin
After one week in office, Western Cape acting provincial police commissioner Maj-Gen Thembisile Patekile says the alarmingly high levels of serious violent crimes are driven by the proliferation of illegal firearms.
The Western Cape, particularly the Cape Town metropole, has emerged from a week that saw multiple murders with the use of guns:
Two teens shot dead, three others wounded in Mitchells Plain
Patekile said he is resolved to rid communities in the Western Cape of the illegal firearms that contribute to violent crimes.
“With illegal firearms off the streets, the province’s communities will be safer,” he said, adding he would drive intensified policing initiatives with community involvement.
In the past week, 30 illegal firearms and rounds of ammunition were seized and several arrests were effected in operations undertaken throughout the Western Cape.
Meanwhile, 13 men between the ages of 22 and 47 are expected to appear in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Monday in connection with the raid on a luxury car dealership in Cape Town a week ago.
The suspects were arrested in tracing operations executed over the weekend. They are facing business robbery, malicious damage to property and extortion charges.
TimesLIVE
Two cops killed in 'ambush' while on patrol in Cape Town
WATCH | Luxury cars smashed as 40 vandals storm Cape Town dealership
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