Minister Anroux Marais Commends Crime Prevention Successes of K9 Units

Minister Anroux Marais commends crime prevention successes of K9 Units across the Western Cape and urges Communities to support the brave work they do

The Acting Minister for Community Safety, Anroux Marais, commends the role of the K9 units established by the soon to be renamed Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, in partnership with local municipalities. The various Joint Crime Prevention Operations yields numerous successful arrests of suspects for dealing and/or possession of drugs, illegal firearms and marine resources.

 As at Friday, 25 February 2022:

 In the Swartland Municipality:

• One (1) adult male was arrested for possession of an illegal firearm with ammunition which was hidden in the roof of his house during a stop and search exercise.
• In Malmesbury, the K9 unit executed search warrants in the area including Abbotsdale at residential addresses identified as drug outlets.
• During the exercise, four (4) adult males were arrested for dealing in drugs and one (1) adult female arrested for possession of drugs.

 In the Overstand Municipality:

• The K9 unit made several arrests for the Illegal possession of abalone and drugs/dealing in drugs. Suspects dealing in drugs were found in possession of Mandrax and Tik. The estimated value of these confiscated drugs and poaching of marine resources stands at a total value of just under a hundred thousand rand (R92 000).
• One (1) person was arrested for possession of an imitation firearm.
• One (1) person was arrested for driving a vehicle on a public road with a fraudulent Licence disk and two (2) fraudulent numberplates.

Further to this, numerous arrests were also executed by the K9 unit within the boundaries of City of Cape Town. Suspects were arrested for:

• Possession of Mandrax and Tik,
• Reckless and Negligent driving and
• Possession of Imitation Firearms. These imitation firearms included 1 x 9mm Cal Baretta & 15 9mm Blank Cartridges (Imitation) 1 x Pistol 4.5mm (Imitation) and 1 x Air Riffle.

Minister Marais is indeed proud of the commendable efforts successfully executed by the K9 units across the province. Expressing gratitude and appreciation, Minister Marais said, “We wholeheartedly thank the K9 units in partnership with the respective municipalities for the life-saving measures they actively have in place, risking their own lives to create safer communities for all those who call it home. We look forward to expanding these much- needed K9 Units to other municipalities in the near future”.

Minister Marais also appealed to communities to work together with Law Enforcement (LE)agencies to fight the battle of crime to collaboratively take our Provincial Safety Plan to the next level. Minister Marais added, “We can’t do this alone and I urge every community member to please assist us in supporting the very brave efforts of our LE agencies. It is disheartening to hear of instances where community members attempt to obstruct law enforcement agencies in the execution of their duties”.

Recently, officers had to contend with a very volatile crowd in Macassar Village while trying to arrest a suspect after receiving a tip off about illegal activities. When exiting the area, the crowd of about 200 started to stone the K9 Officers and TRU members dispersed rubber rounds to ward off the crowd.

It is important to note that the K9 unit, which includes the dogs and their handlers, have been trained to provide support at integrated law enforcement operations in terms of:

• Preventing the illegal transportation of narcotics, explosives and poaching of marine resources;
• Delivering crime prevention through an integrated multidisciplinary model aimed at combatting and prevention of criminality;
• Ensuring compliance with the relevant legislation including the National Road Traffic Act, the Criminal Procedure Act, Drug and Drug Trafficking Act and Firearm Control Act;
• Increasing coverage through the deployment of K9 resources after hours; and
• Maintaining a high degree of visible policing by means of K9 patrols, deployment to identified areas which includes weighbridges, key points and identified crime hot spots.

The Department of Community Safety has provided funding to the various Municipalities to facilitate the establishment of the K9 Unit, supporting the district municipality’s safety plans in creating a safer society FOR YOU.

Photographs are available on request.