The South African Police Service says it has arrested 13,373 suspects in a nationwide crime crackdown carried out between the 27 April and the 3 May 2026 under Operation Shanela.

Police Spokesperson, Thabo Moetji, says the arrests were made across all provinces, targeting serious and violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and drug trafficking, with 131 illegal firearms and 872 dangerous weapons also seized.

The operation included raids, roadblocks and intelligence-driven actions, with notable arrests at OR Tambo International Airport.

Moetji says this comes as police continue to intensify efforts to curb high levels of violent crime and drug-related offences in the country.

“The high-risk operation enabled the recovery of human remains, suspected to be those of a missing person. The remains have been sent for DNA analysis. Operations to combat contact crimes resulted in the arrest of 100 suspects for murder, Gauteng with 29, Western Cape 25, 88 suspects for attempted murder, 1 111 suspects for assault GBH.”

#sapsHQ [NATIONWIDE SHANELA OPERATIONS] The #SAPS has intensified its nationwide crackdown on crime through #OperationShanela II, resulting in the arrest of 13 373 suspects for various offences between 27 April and 03 May 2026.

Operations targeting #wanted suspects led to the… pic.twitter.com/mtEByYTCbJ

— SA Police Service (@SAPoliceService) May 4, 2026

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