City of Cape Town Metro Police Specialised teams have made three arrests and recovered some of the property stolen from a Gift of the Givers warehouse over the weekend. Relief packs for fire victims were among the stolen items. In total, 10 suspects have been arrested as part of a multi-agency operation with the South African Police Services (SAPS).

Following up on a tip-off on Monday, metro police were able to nab three suspects, who were handed over at Philippi SAPS along with the recovered goods.

‘Metro Police officers played a role in the multi-agency joint operation together with SAPS and other roleplayers which led to 10 arrests in total, three of which were made by our officers. Information was gained of the stolen Gift of the Givers property being stored at four different warehouses in Hanover Park. Arrests were made for "possession of stolen goods". Further investigation by SAPS will be needed to ensure all those responsible face the full might of the law. Crime scenes need to be properly processed, including forensic and fingerprint samples, and detective resources will be needed to process results and bring all those involved to book,’ said Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security.

‘We salute the commendable work of our metro police officers and partner law enforcement agencies including SAPS. The successful arrests and recovery of goods stolen from Gift of the Givers shows what is possible when all authorities join forces to fight crime. We can do even more to help SAPS fight crime if more policing powers are devolved to our well-trained municipal officers. We continue to call on President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Ministers of Police and Justice to devolve powers, particularly for criminal investigation, so that we can produce prosecution-ready case dockets to gain convictions. For too long, our country has struggled with diminishing SAPS resources, with criminals emboldened by investigations and prosecutions that end up going nowhere. The City is ready to help SAPS immediately if more powers are devolved,’ said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

‘The City has already made a substantial investment in expanding our boots on the ground through Metro Police, Law Enforcement and specialised units, including the Law Enforcement Advancement Programme together with the Western Cape Government. But that alone will not achieve the impact needed in communities living in daily fear of crime. For that reason, our focus over the next four years will be on information management and expanding our role in investigations through our units – the Strategic Information Management System (SIMS) and the Safety and Security Investigations Unit (SSIU). This will occur alongside major investments in cutting-edge camera-based safety technologies for data-led policing operations,’ said Alderman Smith.

Source: City Of Cape Town