Police arrested 23 people during an intensive three-day anti-crime operation last week as part of Operation Squeeze.
On Thursday July 26, said Woodstock police spokesman, Sergeant Hilton Malila, police arrested two people and confiscated eight bank bags of dagga, five plastic bank bags of cocaine and one ecstasy tablet during a stop-and-search operation in Kitchener Road, Woodstock.
When police searched the house of one of the suspects, they found — and seized — nine dagga plants.
On the same day, police surprised drug peddlars along Voortrekker Road on the Salt River bridge and arrested a woman, 24, for possession of heroin. Police also arrested a man in Railway Road for being in possession of a sharp object, commonly used during robberies.
“This approach will be ongoing and we will continue to squeeze the space of the criminals and bring the perpetrators to justice”, said Woodstock police station commander, Colonel Duma Ntsezo.
On Friday, between 4pm and 8pm, also during Operation Squeeze, seven people were arrested for possession of drugs, one for possession of tools used to break into cars, one for possession of stolen property, one for possession of a dangerous weapon, one for assault and one for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The following evening, another seven suspects were arrested for various crimes which included dealing in drugs in Pine Road, possession of dagga, possession of dangerous weapons, possession of car breaking implements, and robbery.
In one of the car break-ins, a violin was stolen out of a vehicle in Albert Road.
If anyone has information about it, they are asked to contact Detective Sergeant Reginald Abrahams at Woodstock police station on 021 486 2840.
Sergeant Malila said police involved in Operation Squeeze had been assisted by members of Salt River, Upper Woodstock and Lower Woodstock neighbourhood watches, and street committees.
“Jointly we ensured that the streets once again belong to the community and all properties were safe throughout the night.
“Hot spot areas like Wright Street, Bromwell Street, Pine Road and Mascani were frequently visited and illegal activities disrupted,” he said.
Colonel Ntsezo added: “With the steep petrol increases while our neighbourhood watches and street committees come and patrol with their own vehicles, I want to thank our partners, community safety structures for the role that they are playing during Operation Squeeze, as we have one common goal and it’s to ensure safety and security of all residents and visitors of Woodstock.”
According to Sergeant Malila, all the suspects arrested during Operation Squeeze appeared in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and were released on bail and will appear in court again in the middle of August.
