Clampdown on gangs in Bay showing good results
● More than 100 arrests made, drugs worth R500,000 seized
More than 100 people have been arrested and drugs worth R500,000 confiscated during a series of gang clampdown operations in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas.
On Thursday, police raided two houses and held several roadblocks in the Helenvale area in an effort quell the recent spate of gang violence.
The operations are the first steps towards starting a new anti-gang unit in Port Elizabeth, similar to one launched in Cape Town in 2018.
Since December 3, police have confiscated drugs worth R500,000 and arrested 119 people for gang-related crimes in the northern areas.
The operations are part of police minister Bheki Cele’s plan to stop gang violence.
Cele visited the northern areas in December and spoke at the Chatty Community Centre in Bethelsdorp with national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole and safety and transport MEC Weziwe Tikana.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said that of the 119 people arrested, 40 were wanted in 34 gang-related cases and the remaining 79 for various crimes linked to gangsterism such as drug dealing.
“The cases and arrests are all linked to the gang activity in the greater northern areas. This includes Helenvale, Gelvandale and Bethelsdorp areas.”
Kinana said every day members of the Tactical Response Team, National Intervention Unit, Crime Combating Unit and K9 Unit met to analysis crime trends.
The drugs recovered included cocaine, tik, mandrax and schedule 5 pharmaceutical drugs.
Ten suspected stolen firearms and 122 rounds of ammunition were also confiscated.
During Thursday’s raid, police concentrated on the Helenvale area, targeting a house in Blesbok Street and another in Voisen Road.
“Our focus is firearms and drugs. For these two raids we obtained search warrants based on information that was received,” he said.
As the police arrived at the houses in convoy, residents lined the streets to watch the searches, with some angrily screaming at the police.
A Port Elizabeth K9 Unit explosive detection dog, Max, was sent into the houses to sniff out stashed firearms with drug-detection dog Charlie.
Nothing was found during the raid and residents appear to have different views of the operations.
“We support this fully and want to see it happen more. It is good that they are here,” one resident said.
Another said it boiled down to police harassment as police kept raiding the same houses, never finding anything.
Elaine Petrus, 47, who lives in one of the houses that was raided, said she had been raided five times in recent months, with police finding nothing each time.
“I am not angry and understand that the police are just doing their job. I tell them every time that they can come in and search but they are not going to find anything,” she said.
“It is irritating that they keep coming to my house but I understand that they are just doing their jobs.
“I have six children and this is for their benefit.
“Hopefully one day they can play outside without worrying about being shot.”
Kinana said the raids and deployment were based on tipoffs and crime intelligence information as well as daily crime trends.
“All these factors allow us to deploy teams of highly trained members to these areas.
“We need the community to keep giving us information so that we can keep doing what we do,” he said.
“Since the operations, we have seen a noticeable decrease in gang-related murders. It is clear that operations are having a great impact.”
Asked about the metro’s Shot Spotter – a gunshot detection system used to pinpoint the locations of gunshots – Kinana said the results had been great.
“This system has proven to be very useful and is beneficial to policing. We have made several arrests due to the system and it continues to help us in speedily responding to active shootings.”
Kinana said the operations were overseen by provincial police head Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga, who had deployed senior officials to the Bay to spearhead the operations.
On the back of Cele’s visit, the police portfolio committee also visited the Bay and spoke to several community leaders about issues plaguing the northern areas.
Police portfolio committee head Francois Beukman said some of the issues highlighted included children as young as 13 being recruited into gangs.
Operations are due to continue for months to come.