LISTED as the most violent crime and the highest number of rape cases against women in KwaZulu-Natal last month.
The provincial police said they arrested 11,757 suspects for various crimes during Operation Shanela and daily police operations in February. They found 278 guns, including 23 big guns, 10 homemade guns and 3,824 rounds of different guns.
Crimes involving robbery had the highest number of arrests as a total of 3,568 suspects were arrested.
166 were arrested for murder, while 193 suspects were arrested for attempted murder. 190 suspects were arrested for various types of robbery, 54 of them were arrested for robbery using violence, while 75 suspects were arrested for robbery and 51 other suspects were arrested for housebreaking and business robbery.
The ongoing fight against violence against women and children has led to the arrest of 208 rape suspects, 16 for attempted rape and 46 for sexual abuse.
312 were arrested for crimes related to violating the Domestic Violence Act.
1,655 were arrested for assault with intent to injure, while 902 were charged with assault.
In their efforts to fulfill their duty to protect the property of the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal, the police arrested 214 suspects for breaking into residential areas and 78 suspects were arrested for breaking into businesses.
52 suspects were arrested for livestock theft and various campaigns led to the recovery of 24 suspected stolen cattle and 51 goats.
Masses of meat suspected to belong to cattle were also found.
1,704 were arrested for drug-related crimes, 742 motorists were arrested for driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, and 165 were arrested for possession of illegal firearms.
Most of the arrests were made in collaboration with community members. The police are urging law-abiding citizens to continue to provide them with clues and reports about criminals who are harassing communities.