SUCCESSFUL OPERATION SHANELA II LEADS TO SIGNIFICANT ARRESTS IN THE FREE STATE PROVINCE

Free State Province Operation Shanela II

By: Neo Ntsele

Various units of the South African Police Service, along with officials from the Department of Home Affairs, Department of Labour, Department of Economic, Small Business Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport, South African Revenue Services, and Mangaung Metro Municipality Law Enforcement, conducted policing actions.

These included high visibility patrols (1,015), vehicle checkpoints (541), and roadblocks (21) during a high-density deployment across the districts of Free State Province.

During the operation, several operational concepts were implemented as follows:

1,044 compliance inspections were carried out on licensed liquor premises.

50 scrapyards or recycling premises were inspected for compliance.

559 spaza shops or informal businesses were visited to ensure compliance with labour laws.

2,868 farm visits were conducted in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Labour.

The integrated team confiscated 15,650 litres of alcoholic beverages, 520 packets of tobacco, and 32,106 kilograms of suspected stolen copper cables.

The team also seized 122 Mandrax tablets, 224 grams of Tik, and 9.397 kilograms of dagga.

Planned Operation Shanela II will continue to be executed in areas of concern and identified crime hotspots across all Free State Districts.