Police swoop rounds up a dozen

POLICE have arrested 12 people in the informal settlement of France, outside Pietermaritzburg, on charges of assault, possession of drugs and vehicle theft.

Provincial police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said that during a joint operation yesterday, three men, aged 18, 24 and 27, were arrested for possession of dagga and “an 18year-old female suspect was found in possession of nine mandrax tablets with a street value of about R500”.

Police also arrested a 60-year-old man who allegedly stabbed his 40-year-old girlfriend twice at his house in France on June 16. “He is facing a charge of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm,” said Zwane.

“Members also arrested six undocumented Malawian nationals… in the area,” he said.

Zwane said a 19-year-old youth was arrested for the theft of a white VW Polo which had been stolen from a residence in Hayfields earlier in the month.

“A white Toyota Conquest which was stolen during a robbery on June 22 at a shop in Mountain Rise and a white Nissan 1-ton bakkie which was stolen during a hijacking in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday night were also recovered.”

Zwane said Nishan Singh had been at the intersection of Chief Albert Luthuli (Commercial) Road and Prince Alfred Street when two unknown men, wearing balaclavas, approached from either side of his bakkie. The men produced firearms and ordered him out of the bakkie. “They then fled the scene in his vehicle,” he said.

No arrests had been made in connection with the hijacking.

The suspects are expected to appear in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court soon. – Daily News Reporter