85,000 suspects arrested in nationwide operations, police chief says

National Police Chief General Fannie Masemola has revealed that 85,000 suspects have been arrested in the past month for crimes ranging from murder to rape, kidnapping and extortion.

Masemola briefed the media on Thursday morning on the nationwide operations that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has conducted over the past month.

The police say efforts are underway to put an end to extortion-related crimes, but “we need the cooperation of our communities to report the crime and name the perpetrators.”

He has set himself the goal of dismantling the Boko Haram extortion group, which is active in Mamelodi. The crime of extortionrequires a specialized investigative capacity and therefore we have deployed specialized teams led by the DPCIHawks, intelligence agencies and organised crime units to lead these investigations.”

The National Police Commissioner has warned criminals that police will use all means to strengthen the authority of the state and protect and defend communities.

There have been 319 cases of extortion reported nationwide between April 2023 and August 2024, while 151 arrests have been made.

Masemola issued a stern warning to criminals.

Press briefing on the national SAPS activities of the past month

Earlier this month, he announced that police managed to arrest 13,691 suspects during Operation Shanela between September 2 and 8.

Among those arrested were 1,953 suspects arrested for crimes including murder, rape, illegal possession of weapons and business robberies.

1,460 suspects were arrested for drug possession, 576 suspects for illegal trade in spirits and 404 suspects for driving under the influence.