JOHANNESBURG, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The South African police are making progress in tackling serious crimes as 551,506 suspects have been arrested for various crimes across the country since May last year, Police Minister Bheki Cele said Sunday.
The police's countrywide high-density operations have resulted in the arrest of 8,563 suspected rapists and 6,045 murder suspects, while 4,410 suspects have been arrested for attempted murder, Cele made the remarks while briefing the media in Pretoria, the administrative capital of the country.
A total of 41,191 suspects have been arrested for the contravention of the Immigration Act, and 1,028 have been arrested for hijacking, he noted.
Police have also arrested 17,077 suspects dealing with drugs and 46,728 who were found in possession of drugs since May last year.
A total of 17,401 firearms were removed from the street through policing operations, he added.
Combating crime through decisive police action and robust community involvement remains at the heart of policing in the country, Cele said, adding that police will continue to push back hard on criminality. ■