Cape Town – In a hair-raising incident, members of the Ghost Squad were amazed to see a driver they were pursuing and another occupant of the vehicle swap seats on the N2 outgoing at a speed of nearly 200km/h.
The City's Traffic Service said the driver had refused to stop on Sunday and after swapping seats with his passenger in mid-pursuit, only then did he pull over.
The original driver was arrested on charges of reckless and negligent driving and drunk driving. Both he and the passenger were also charged with defeating the ends of justice.
"The continued lawlessness on our roads is downright disappointing. The Cape Town Traffic Service has arrested 123 suspects in the last week and issued 1 793 fines for various offences," said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith.
Of these, 92 were driving under the influence, 21 had outstanding warrants and the rest were caught for reckless and negligent driving, fraud and defeating the ends of justice, including, the City said:
– During a roadblock in Parow on Sunday, officers arrested 11 motorists. One of them had a breath alcohol reading of 2.38mg/l – nearly 10 times over the legal limit of 0.24mg/l. The 42-year-old Parow resident was arrested and detained at the Parow police station along with the other suspects.
The City’s Metro Police Department made at least 26 arrests in the last week, including seven for driving under the influence, 10 for possession of drugs and three for theft out of a motor vehicle.
– On Sunday, the Metro Police Gang and Drug Task Team received information regarding suspected drug dealing at a residence in Manenberg. The officers responded and, on arrival, saw two men running into the house.
One of the suspects threw an object through the window, which later turned out to be a medicine container holding 16 packets of tik.
The suspects, aged 27 and 37, were also found in possession of R2 473.60 in cash. They were arrested for possession of dangerous dependence-producing substances and detained at Manenberg SAPS.
– In Strandfontein, a 34-year-old suspect was arrested after being found in possession of 200 units of heroin.
– On Monday, Metro Police members on patrol in the CBD pulled over a silver Toyota. While requesting the driver’s credentials, officers ran a check of the vehicle and discovered it was linked to a "theft out of motor vehicle" case in Rondebosch.
The occupants were taken to Rondebosch SAPS for further questioning, resulting in three arrests.
– On Friday, an examiner conducted a learner’s licence examination at Gallows Hill Driving Licence Testing Centre. As the successful candidates were collecting their documentation, the examiner noticed that the photograph attached to the learner’s licence did not match the face of the person standing in front of him.
He asked the person for his identity document and the applicant indicated that he needed to collect it from his bag. The person didn’t return and when the examiner went to look for him, he saw a man looking exactly like the person on the photograph walk into the DLTC.
Upon questioning, the man admitted to paying someone else R200 to write the learner’s test on his behalf. The suspect was arrested on a charge of fraud.
– Last Thursday, an officer attached to the Road Haulage Unit stopped a minibus taxi in the CBD. The 34-year-old driver had a vehicle full of passengers but could not produce a valid driving licence or professional driving permit. Further investigation led to his arrest for 35 outstanding warrants totalling R92 300.