Police seize 175 guns and R160 million in fake goods as 17,160 arrested in one week

South African Police Service (SAPS) operations between 12 and 18 October 2026 produced 17,160 arrests across all nine provinces, including 2,688 wanted suspects linked to serious and violent crimes, the service said in a media statement.

Police recovered and removed 175 illegal firearms from circulation, among them high-calibre weapons, along with 2,059 rounds of ammunition. The figures are SAPS’s own summary of the week and not a case-by-case record, so the statement gives totals rather than a breakdown of each arrest.

The operations were run simultaneously as Operation Shanela and National Festive Season Operations, which SAPS describes as intelligence-driven.

The largest single seizure in the statement was in the Johannesburg Central Business District, where the National Counterfeit and Illicit Goods Unit seized counterfeit goods valued at more than R160 million.

In Soweto, police dismantled a mandrax manufacturing laboratory in Meadowlands on 16 October, seizing manufacturing equipment, mandrax tablets and the chemicals used in production. SAPS put the estimated street value at R1.6 million and said four suspects were arrested at the scene.

On 15 October, police uncovered an illicit alcohol manufacturing facility on a farm in Stilfontein, North West, seizing alcohol with an estimated street value of R1.4 million. Three undocumented Malawian nationals, including the farm owner, were arrested in connection with the operation, according to the statement.

Members of the Commission Recommendations Task Team arrested a 49-year-old man at OR Tambo International Airport for allegedly failing to appear before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. SAPS did not name him.

The arrest breakdown SAPS released covers a range of offences. Possession of drugs accounts for 3,076 arrests, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for 1,637, and 1,445 people were arrested for being undocumented foreign nationals. Common assault accounts for 1,101 arrests, illegal dealing in liquor for 669, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for 669. A further 543 were arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon and 374 for malicious damage to property.

The list continues with 291 arrests for dealing in drugs, 245 for residential burglary, 185 for human trafficking, 184 for rape, 168 for attempted murder, 133 for murder, 87 for aggravated robbery, 81 for illegal possession of firearms and 75 for contravention of the Firearms Control Act. Another 71 arrests were for illegal mining and 59 for illegal possession of ammunition.

Police also confiscated more than 35,000 litres of alcohol, 771 dangerous weapons and various types of drugs, and recovered 58 stolen or hijacked vehicles.

Several of the provincial operations in the statement stand on their own.

In Mpumalanga on 15 October, a pastor and his wife were arrested after police rescued approximately 200 people, including minors, from an unregistered rehabilitation centre operating from St John’s Church in Waterval, near Siyabuswa. SAPS said victims were allegedly kept in overcrowded and inhumane conditions and that several individuals were found chained together.

In the Eastern Cape on 17 October, an armed suspect linked to several high-profile murder cases, including the killing of a police officer, was fatally wounded after pointing an AK-47 assault rifle at police during an intelligence-driven operation in Mqanduli. Police seized the rifle and the suspect’s vehicle.

In Gauteng, police working with partner agencies seized 186,236 non-compliant and counterfeit items valued at more than R2.4 million in two separate operations in Pretoria. The items included electrical appliances, light bulbs, extension cords, processed meat products and other consumables, and two suspects were arrested for allegedly dealing in counterfeit goods.

In KwaZulu-Natal, three suspects were fatally wounded in a shootout with police following a cash-in-transit heist on 14 October along the M30 near Mega City. Police recovered three rifles, one pistol and an undisclosed amount of cash, and said four suspects remain at large. The suspects abandoned a getaway vehicle in Isipingo and later hijacked a Suzuki sedan, which was recovered in Adams Mission.

In Limpopo, a 54-year-old Zimbabwean national, Godknows Mangani Demanyundo, was convicted and sentenced by the Giyani Magistrate’s Court for transporting illicit cigarettes valued at more than R10.4 million through the Musina-Beitbridge Port of Entry. The prosecution followed an investigation led by the Hawks with SARS, SAPS, the Border Management Authority and other agencies.

In the Northern Cape on 16 October, a multidisciplinary team recovered 12 stolen Jetour T2 Hybrid vehicles valued at more than R4.7 million in Colesberg and arrested six suspects.

In Mpumalanga on 14 October, Hawks investigators arrested a 55-year-old woman in Nelspruit on charges of corruption linked to an alleged R114 million money laundering, tender fraud and corruption scheme involving the Mpumalanga Department of Education. SAPS said investigations are continuing.

In North West, three Zimbabwean nationals aged 20, 35 and 37 were arrested during Operation Prosper at Roken Mine near Klerksdorp for alleged illegal mining, possession of explosives and contravention of immigration laws. Police seized 59 connector-capped fuses, 98 blasting cartridges, nine detonating cords, 14 generators, six water pumps and 10 jackhammers.

In the Free State on 16 October, the Ficksburg Regional Court sentenced Kamal Ebrahim to two life terms for the rape of two children aged seven and eight at the time of the incident on 26 January 2020. He was convicted on two counts of rape.

In the Western Cape, members of the Anti-Gang Unit arrested a 32-year-old man on 14 October in connection with a double murder in Cafda, Steenberg, on 9 October. SAPS said unidentified gunmen chased a rival gang member onto a property, missed their intended target and fatally shot two victims. The suspect has been charged with murder.

The statement carries the contact details of Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mukhathi for enquiries. The canonical statement is published at https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/selnewsdetails.php?nid=71970.