KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police have arrested nearly 12 000 suspects for various crimes in the province, including murder, attempted murder and robberies.
The suspects were handcuffed during Operation Shanela and routine daily police operations in the month of February 2026.
South African Police Service (Saps) in KZN also recovered 278 firearms, including 23 rifles, eight shotguns, ten homemade guns, as well as 3 824 rounds of ammunition of different calibres of firearms.
Crimes include murder, robbery, stock theft and GBV
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said a total of 11 757 were arrested during the operations.
“Contact crimes contributed the highest number of arrests, with a total of 3 568 arrested suspects. 166 of them were arrested for murder cases, whereas 193 suspects were nabbed for attempted murder.”
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He said 190 suspects were arrested for different types of robberies, with 54 of them having been locked up for robbery with aggravating circumstances, whilst 75 suspected robbers and 51 more suspects were arrested for house robberies and business robberies, respectively.
“The fight against violence perpetrated against women and children resulted in the arrest of 208 suspects for rape, 16 for attempted rape and 46 suspects were arrested for sexual assault.
“312 people were arrested for transgression of the Domestic Violence Act, 1 655 suspects were arrested for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and 902 suspects were arrested for common assault,” Netshiunda said.
Netshiunda said KZN police also arrested 214 suspects for burglary at residential premises and 78 suspects were nabbed for business burglary,” Netshiunda said.
52 suspects were arrested for stock theft-related cases, and various operations led to the recovery of 24 suspected stolen cattle and 51 goats. 4kg of meat suspected to be from stolen cattle were recovered.”
Drug-related crimes
He said 1 704 suspects were arrested for drug-related crimes, while 742 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and 165 people were arrested for being in illegal possession of firearms.
Tip-offs from community member
“Most of the arrests were made possible through cooperation with community members.”
Saps has appealed to residents to continue providing accurate tip-offs and reports about criminals terrorising communities.
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