All a day’s work for the busy security company Pietermaritzburg

It was all part of the day’s work for one of Pietermaritzburg’s crime-fighting security companies as a number of arrests were made as response units carried out their vigilant patrols around the city.

Mi7 teams across the city achieved several successes last Friday through patrols and intelligence-led operations with other role players.

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Responding officers searched for a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped outside her home in Copesville.

The little girl was found within four hours and the alleged kidnapper was arrested and handed over to the police, while the child was returned to her family.

Later that afternoon, two men standing on Mysore Road acted “suspiciously” when they saw Mi7 response officers passing by.

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The response officers were conducting normal patrols in the area when they spotted the men.

According to Mi7, one man was found in possession of a consignment of whoonga capsules, while further investigation revealed that the other was linked to a robbery incident in the area.

The man involved in the robbery also had a knife with him.

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Both were arrested and the case was handed over to the police for further investigation.

While this was taking place, members of Mi7’s strategic threat response unit worked with Mountain Rise police officers, Mountain Rise SAPS, community policing forum teams and immigration officers to conduct an intelligence-led operation under the command of Colonel TV Gcabashe.

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The operation consisted of two parts, including active crime prevention duties involving roadblocks and vehicle checks, and the search of several premises believed to be a hive of illegal activity.

The roadblocks and vehicle stops and searches resulted in the search of 110 people and 55 vehicles, the arrest of several undocumented aliens, and numerous arrests for drug possession, theft, domestic violence and child abuse, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

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During the early hours of Saturday morning, as the operation came to a close, Mi7 teams in the Pietermaritzburg CBD spotted two men with chairs and a significant amount of copper pipes in Bulwer Street.

When the men saw response officers approaching, they dropped their belongings and tried to flee. A chase ensued, during which one suspect was arrested. He admitted that he had stolen the items, but would not say where from.

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The items were seized and, together with the suspect, handed over to the police for further investigation.