Cape Town - Western Cape police on Thursday arrested ten people during Operation Fiela raids in Cape Town’s Central Business District which also saw authorities confiscate a large amount of counterfeit goods.
Operation Fiela is a multi-disciplinary and inter-departmental government operation that was launched earlier this year to crack down on crime, but which has been criticised for what is perceived to be the systematic targeting of foreigners.
Thursday morning’s operation started at the Cape Town Stadium where various departments including border police, public order police and immigration and home affairs officials gathered before proceeding to the Station Deck, the Grand Parade, Long Street and St George’s Mall.
People were searched on the streets and at the Station Deck, police confiscated counterfeit goods and arrested ten undocumented immigrants on charges of contravening the Immigration Act.
Several arrests were also made for drug possession, including three juveniles for possession of dagga and a 47-year-old who had five bags of dagga with an estimated street value of R4 000.
Four large bags of counterfeit clothes, one large bag of branded caps and six large bags of fake Nike and Adidas takkies were also confiscated.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the suspects were being detained at Cape Town Central Police station and would appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s court in due course.
ANA