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Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Mthombeni led yet another successful multidisciplinary high-density Operation Shanela earlier tonight on the Golden Highway, Orange Farm where at a roadblock, a hijacked vehicle was recovered, two unlicensed firearms recovered with three suspects aged between 30 and 40 arrested.
Gauteng police have arrested over 1000 suspects and recovered more than 20 unlicensed firearms during Operation Shanela over the weekend.
Of the arrested suspects, close to 800 were apprehended by police detectives during the tracing of wanted suspects.
#sapsGP A total of 1032 suspects were arrested by the police in Gauteng during #OperationShanela conducted across the province between 20 and 22 June 2025.
Police also 21 unlicensed firearms during this period. A total of 78 of these suspects were arrested for driving while… pic.twitter.com/sFI7mceQRZ
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) June 23, 2025
Almost 80 were nabbed for driving under the influence of alcohol. Gauteng police spokesperson, Mavela Masondo, says several illegal liquor outlets were also raided during the operation.
“In an effort to deal with the proliferation of firearms in Gauteng, police recovered twenty-one firearms, which include automatic rifles. These firearms will be taken for ballistics tests to establish if they were not used in the commission of other serious and violent crimes. The arrested suspects are expected to appear at various Magistrate Courts around Gauteng on Monday, while others were released after paying admission of guilt fines.
SAPS conducting Operation Shanela in Diepsloot
