Cape Town - The Grand Parade an iconic landmark in the City of Cape Town has in recently become a haven for illegal drug activity, and in an attempt to curb this,18 Law Enforcement officers were deployed by the City to focus on these problems.
On Tuesday, Law Enforcement officers swooped on a stall holder who was illegally selling drugs from his stall. Three packets of dagga was found on his person and a search of the stall revealed 300 packets of dagga and an addition bag of dagga weighing 528.02 grams was also found.
Two suspects, were arrested and charged at the Cape Town Central police station.
The City said that it will actively pursue the termination of the tenure of any stallholder who is found guilty of engaging in any unlawful or criminal activity. The Law Enforcement officers, who work closely with the Central City Improvement District (CCID) and SAPS, are clamping down on criminal activity on the Parade.
Dagga seized by the Law Enforcement officers in a raid in Ravensmead. Picture Supplied
In the past month 19 arrests have been made, fines to the value of R89 100.00 have been issued, and counterfeit goods with a market value of R296 650 was confiscated.
Wayne Dyason from the City of Cape Town's law enforcement division outlines the recent successes. Audio: Supplied by CoCT
In another incident at Sunset Beach in Sea Point, security officers alerted the Law Enforcement Officers in the area that a man was preparing to hurl himself off a rock into the surf.
Huge swells were running at the time and the man would almost certainly be taking his own life if he jumped. The officers attempted to speak him out of jumping into the surf but he seemed intent on taking his own life. He then jumped into the surf and disappeared beneath the waves. A huge wave forced him to resurface and pushed him towards the rocks.
This gave the officers an opportunity to bravely go in, risking their own lives and rescue the victim. They managed to grab and hold onto him in the roiling surf and were eventually swept onto a rock. Still holding on to the patient they made their way out of the water. The 24 year old patient was transported to Somerset Hospital in a stable condition.
In Ravensmead 4 suspects, 3 males and one female, were arrested by the Law Enforcement Social Housing Unit. They were found in possession of the following:
45mm Taurus handgun with a magazine, 51 x 9mm rounds, 25 x 45mm rounds, 12 x 357 mm rounds, 5 x shotgun rounds, one 38 mm round, 50 x full Mandrax tablets, 20 x half Mandrax tablets, 1 x packet of crushed Mandrax tablets, a parcel Dagga and R1273 in cash.
