By: Natasha Archary

Police in KwaZulu-Natal have nabbed 8 940 suspects and recovered 332 firearms in July due to Operation Shanela, which aims to crack down on crime in the province.
Ongoing, high density operations, dubbed Operation Shanela includes routine police patrols, stop and searches, and strategically ser-up vehicle check points during the month of July.
Just under 9 000 suspects were arrested for a variety of serious crimes including murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, hijackings, business and house robberies, as well as rape and other sexual offences.
Police in KZN also recovered 332 firearms, of which, 231 were taken off the streets during day to day policing.
The list of firearms that police confiscated include 273 handguns, 25 rifles, 17 shotguns and 17 homemade firearms.
KZN police say kidnappings are also on the rise again, and 42 suspects were arrested for kidnappings in July.
“Alcohol has been identified as one of the major contributors in crimes, and with that in mind, well coordinated shebeen raids were conducted, during which 515 people were arrested for illegal sales of liquor.
Proactive policing by officers in the province also led to the recovery of 17 petrol bombs, 543 knives and 24 machetes.
Police also recovered 251 vehicles which were either stolen or hijacked.”
A total of 189 people were also arrested for domestic violence and of the 8 940 suspects arrested, 1 532 were arrested for drug-related crimes.
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