Durban - A complaint has been laid against a magistrate at a Durban court after he allegedly obstructed the arrest of two suspected drug dealers.
The men reportedly belong to the notorious 11th Street gang in Chatsworth.
The Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) have accused the magistrate of defeating the ends of justice and intimidation.
According to an affidavit signed by a senior member of the AGU, officers were executing two warrants of arrest when the magistrate intervened.
Brandon Kalicharan (known as Puff) and Raelton Veerasamy were in U court for a separate matter. The pair are currently out on bail.
The AGU officers approached the accused men's attorney to inform them of the new charges.
The pair were placed under arrest.
A second attorney approached the officers, accompanied by the magistrate.
The magistrate allegedly shouted at the officers, demanding to know why they were arresting the men.
"I asked him to keep quiet and back off. He was going to incite a group of people who were with the suspects to attack us while we were placing the suspects in handcuffs," the member said.
The magistrate was asked to back off but he allegedly continued to shout at the officers and disrupt other court sittings.
The members called the magistrate's behaviour "unprofessional and unethical".
The affidavit states that he is the same magistrate who granted Kalicharan bail for a murder case in November last year.
IOL