Cape Town – Police in Cape Town are taking down criminals who defy national lockdown regulations, with nine suspects appearing in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court.
This comes after police made an alcohol bust worth R640 000 in the Airport Industria area on Tuesday.
A renewed ban on the sale and public consumption of alcohol has been in place since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced South Africa was moving back to a stricter level 3 Covid-19 lockdown on December 28, amid a surge in new infections.
Ramaphosa said the prohibition of alcohol was necessary in order to avoid related trauma cases adding pressure on an already stressed healthcare system as the country battles a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to provincial spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, police received information about illegal liquor trading from a farm in Paarl and on premises in Airport Industria.
Officers attached to crime intelligence were assisted by the anti-gang unit in swooping on a truck laden with alcohol on Tuesday.
Van Wyk said nine suspects aged between 26 and 55 were arrested.
“Members seized 3 000 5-litre and t3-litre bottles of cheap wine, 1 416 750 ml bottles of red wine, a substantial amount of cash and a delivery truck,” he said.
“Inside the premises in Airport Industria, police discovered a storage facility equipped with security uniforms, safes, forklifts and more boxes of alcohol.”
The suspects have been charged with contravening the Disaster Management Act regulations in relation to selling, dispensing and distributing alcohol.
“All arrested suspects are expected to appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court today,” Van Wyk said.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Yolisa Mokgabudi commended officers for their efforts.
African News Agency (ANA)