JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng police are clamping down on violent crime and substance abuse on the West Rand.
Provincial Police Commissioner Elias Mawela led O Kae Molao operations in the area.
He says the high number of illegal shebeens is a concern.
“We decided to descend to the West Rand so that we can come and assist the station commanders... because we have observed that there is a high level of serious and violent crime which is happening here and the murders which are occurring here," he said.
"So the root causes of those crimes we have established that it is due to the number of unlicensed shebeens which are here and a high level of substance abuse, the proliferation of firearms remains a problem here."