Pretoria - Following rampant shootings, reports of gunfights and several murders, Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela has led an overnight raid at the infamous Ehlanzeni hostel in Tembisa.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika during the operation, Mawela said the rampant crime and fighting at the hostel emanates from rival gangs from KwaZulu-Natal, battling it out in Gauteng.
“Within a short space of time, we have five incidents of murders, and also (other) five people were nearly killed. Firearms were used. We drilled down to get the details as to what is the issue. We found that it is rival groups all the way from KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
“They are fighting for their own things from KwaZulu-Natal, and now they bring their fight here, in this hostel. So, we felt that there is lots of firearms which are in the wrong hands in this particular space.
“Even the people who are staying around this area, they said to us they usually hear some gunshots, especially during the night. So, the purpose of the operation tonight is to come and search for those illegal firearms in this particular space,” said Mawela.
During the raid on Tuesday night, Mawela told journalists that no arrests had been made and the leaders of the rival factions had not been spotted.
“The ring leaders of those two groups were identified. Unfortunately, we are informed that they are no longer in this particular space, but their runners are here.
“We hope that the team of detectives and intelligence will pick some of them when we do this kind of an operation,” said Mawela.
Last month, Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that there had been another increase in murder cases across South Africa in the past three months, with more than 6 200 people killed from January to March.
Cele said police would try to improve the situation, but the fact that murder was up by 3.4% showed that more work needed to be done.
The minister was briefing the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on police on Tuesday on the crime statistics for the fourth quarter.
Head of police crime research, Lieutenant General Norman Sekhukhune, said in the first three months of this year, more than 6 200 people were killed.
This was 200 more than in the previous period last year.
IOL