LEAP Officers continue success in fighting crime

The Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) Officers continue to make significant strides in fighting crime as part of the Western Cape Safety Plan. 

 

One of the highlights for the week under review was when LEAP members came across two suspicious males while on patrol in Nyanga. After requesting permission to search them, a .44 Magnum pistol was found tucked in front of the pants of one of the suspects. As the suspect, a 26-year old, could not produce a license for the firearm, he was arrested and charged for possession of an unlicensed firearm.

 

Minister Fritz said, “the proliferation of unlicensed firearms is a real problem in our communities. If a firearm is unlicensed, the chances of it ending up in the wrong hands are just so much greater. So when our LEAP team members confiscate an unlicensed firearm, I am really encouraged: it means any number of potential criminal incidents are avoided – murders, rapes, robbery. Every single unlicensed firearm confiscation is a win.”

 

 

• 4 imitation firearms

• One .44 Magnum pistol

• 15 live rounds of illegal ammunition

• 15 knives

• 52 full Mandrax tablets

• 56 half Mandrax tablets

• 2 quarter Mandrax tablets and 2 crushed Mandrax tablets

• 207 packets of tik

• 18 packets of dagga

• 29 packets of heroin

 

 

• 47 arrested for possession and dealing of drugs; 

• 12 arrested for possession of dangerous weapons; 

• 5 arrested for possession of illegal ammunition;

• 4 arrested for possession of an imitation firearm;

• 2 arrested for trading without a liquor license;

• 1 arrest for carjacking

Minister Fritz said, ”There is an increasing presence and consistency of LEAP officers in the communities most affected by violence and murder. This is critical because we are ensuring that as a provincial government we are responding to the calls from our citizens and communities for more concerted and consistent efforts to ensure that they are safe from the scourges of crime and violence. The 80 arrests that were made by LEAP, over a period of seven days, when taken together with arrests made by other policing and law enforcement agencies, means that we are beginning to ground the message that there are consequences for criminal and illegal actions.” 

 

Minister Fritz concluded, “I would like to congratulate our LEAP members for the sterling work. I want them to know that when they confiscate an unlicensed gun, they save lives. Somewhere out there, a breadwinner is still able to provide for his family because he wasn’t murdered; a woman out there has not been added to the unacceptably long list of gender-based violence victims. Your contribution is making a difference.”