POLICE warn residents to stop asking for the documents of those they suspect to be undocumented foreign nationals.
The police said this is illegal and residents should leave law enforcement officers to do their job.
This is according to acting Tshwane District Police Commissioner, Brigadier Johannes Tau, who led Operation Shanela in Pretoria north on Saturday, 4 July.
Speaking about the operation's success, Tau said: "We arrested 15 undocumented foreign nationals, 11 Zimbabweans, three Mozambicans and one Malawian. We arrested 18 motorists for drunk driving. Seven unlicenced shebeens were closed."
He said five people were arrested in possession of crystal meth, while one suspect was arrested for being found in possession of suspected stolen copper cable and three people were arrested for drinking in public.
"The street value of stolen copper cable is almost R14 000. The male suspect was driving and it was found in his car. A case of possession of suspected stolen property was opened," he said.
He said the cable suspect will appear in the Pretoria North Magistrates Court on Monday, 5 July.
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Tau said problematic crimes in Pretoria north are burglary in residential properties, house robberies and business burglaries, which mostly take place in the early mornings.
"We are also experiencing common robberies in the streets, especially dark streets of Pretoria north where people are robbed of their valuables. Kidnappings are also happening, but are a result of car and truck hijackings. Victims are taken elsewhere where they are made to withdraw ransom money through banking Apps," he said.
He said the police also did stop and searches to look for dangerous weapons or stolen items.
DA chief whip in Tshwane, Dana Wannenburg said: "Cable theft is affecting us. Criminals are stealing poles, cables and even transformers. Cable theft is an ongoing crime. We demand more police visibility in this area."
Afriforum Noord van die Berg branch chairman, Ruan Janse van Vuuren said there was a huge spike crime, which went down lately.
"Kidnappings are on the rise," he said.
