Police Minister Bheki Cele said that calm had now been restored to Phoenix, north of Durban, but a strong security presence would remain in the area.
The town gained notoriety after 36 people were killed during last month’s civil unrest.
Cele addressed the media at the Inanda Police Station on Tuesday.
He said that it was suspected that vigilantes from Phoenix were responsible for most of the deaths there during the unrest.
Community members who set up barricades to protect their areas from looters last month were initially lauded by many in the country, including President Cyril Ramaphosa.
But such acts turned into criminality in areas like Phoenix, where acts of vigilantism and racial profiling were allegedly exerted by some of those who manned the barricades.
Minister Cele: “While much ground has been covered on the security front in Phoenix, the crucial work to rebuild trust between communities is under way.”
Police have so far arrested 22 suspects linked to the violence in Phoenix.
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They have also confiscated 112 illegal firearms from residents and a further 152 guns from private security firms. -Eyewitness
