Over 50 murders were reported in Western Cape over the Easter weekend, Police Minister Bheki Cele has said.
According to IOL, Cele revealed this during a parade of newly deployed officers in the province on Thursday.
Almost 200 police officers were deployed through the crime register to help quell the gradual increase in violent crimes in Western Cape.
News24 quoted the police as saying that the officers were deployed to the Khayelitsha, Delft, Kraaifontein, Nyanga, Harare and Philippi East policing precincts as “force multipliers” within the existing Operation Lockdown currently in the province.
The deployment is in response to the “gradual increase of violent crimes” specifically related to gang violence.
“This is the city that develops different roots of crime, for whatever reason. I don’t know most of the drugs that are produced in the country found to be destined for this city, hence in Worcester, we will have a roadblock and a burst of about R15 million worth coming from other provinces especially Gauteng to here,” Cele was quoted as saying.
PICTURE: Cape Town etc gallery