The South African Police Service (SAPS), under the banner of Operation Shanela, has achieved a major breakthrough in the fight against crime. Between 4 and 10 August 2025, coordinated operations across all nine provinces led to the arrest of 16,571 suspects, the recovery of stolen property, and the confiscation of illicit goods and firearms.
According to SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mukhathi, these crime-fighting activities include tracking operations, roadblocks, high-visibility patrols, stop and searches, as well as tracing of wanted suspects. These efforts reflect SAPS’s intensified, intelligence-driven approach to restoring public safety and dismantling organised criminal networks.
Just this week alone, the following arrests were made:
- 2,065 wanted suspects arrested for serious and violent crimes, including murder, rape, hijacking, and drug trafficking
- 138 suspects arrested for murder
- 134 for attempted murder
- 154 for rape (Gauteng: 40; Free State: 31)
- 1,390 for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH)
- 607 for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Mpumalanga: 157; Western Cape: 124)
- 796 for drug dealing (Western Cape: 554)
- 2,336 for possession of drugs (Western Cape: 723 and KZN: 494)
- 115 for illegal possession of firearms (Western Cape: 34; KZN: 30)
Confiscation and Recoveries:
- 1,480 rounds of ammunition
- 124 firearms confiscated
- 52 stolen and hijacked vehicles recovered during this period
MAJOR TAKEDOWNS AND OPERATIONS:
KWAZULU-NATAL: Police in KZN operationalised intelligence information and intercepted a vehicle entering the country from Eswatini via Paulpietersburg carrying 90 bags of dagga worth R4 million. The team arrested a 32-year-old suspect for dealing in dagga on 5 August 2025.
On 8 August 2025, the Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit in KZN arrested four suspects linked to the murder of PRASA Regional Manager Jacob Khoaele and for a 2024 triple murder in Hibberdene.
EASTERN CAPE: OR Tambo District Task Team executed a search warrant at a homestead in Mcombothi and discovered a shotgun with ammunition and a .303 assault rifle with ammunition. A 60-year-old woman was arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The team proceeded to a second house in the same locality and arrested a 24-year-old man for possession of a 9mm pistol with the serial number filed off and ammunition.
GAUTENG: Gauteng police arrested five suspects and recovered three stolen vehicles: a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, VW Polo and Toyota Starlet with false registration plates in Midrand on 7 August 2025.
On 5 August 2025, Gauteng Police, in partnership with brand protectors and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), conducted two separate operations and seized counterfeit goods worth over R5.8 million in Johannesburg.
LIMPOPO: On 5 August 2025, wanted serial rapist Matome Reuben Modiba (31) was re-arrested after DNA evidence linked him to 11 rape cases and eight cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances. The suspect was operating around Tickyline, Polaneng, Rita Village, and the Maake policing area between 2017 and 2023, terrorising female victims between the ages of 17 and 39 by threatening them with a firearm, raping them, and robbing them of their belongings while wearing balaclavas.
On Friday, 8 August 2025, he appeared before Maake Magistrates’ Court for eleven counts of rape and eight counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. He was remanded in custody and is expected to appear before the court on Tuesday, 12 August 2025, for a formal bail application.
A coordinated SAPS operation involving Mopani Tracking Team, Mokwakwaila Detectives, Highway Patrol, Murder and Robbery Unit, and an off-duty Bolobedu Vispol member led to the arrest of nine suspects linked to a series of armed business robberies at Shoprite Usave stores in Giyani, Mokwakwaila, and Letsitele. Two unlicensed firearms, seven rounds of ammunition, mobile phones, and 33 rounds of coins were seized. All nine suspects (aged 33–50) face charges of business robbery, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, and possession of suspected stolen property. They are detained at Giyani and Bolobedu SAPS and will appear in court on Monday, 11 August 2025. Investigations continue into possible links with other crimes in the province.
WESTERN CAPE: Police arrested four suspected extortionists aged between 24 and 28 years in Harare on 5 August 2025, after they spotted a suspicious Mercedes-Benz in Ntlazane Road, a known hotspot. A search uncovered two unmarked pistols, ammunition, cloned number plates, five mobile phones, and a banking speed point. The suspects face charges including possession of prohibited firearms, suspected stolen property, and false number plates, and have already appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court.
NORTHERN CAPE: On 7 August 2025, the Namakwa District Task Team deployed for Operation Shanela II conducted an intelligence-driven operation at a house in Salie Street, Matjieskloof, and seized hydro dagga worth more than R1.8 million. A 28-year-old woman was arrested for dealing in dagga.
SAPS remains committed to protecting lives, dismantling criminal enterprises, and ensuring the streets are rid of the scourge of criminality.
