World Cup celebrations came to an abrupt halt in Heideveld, when cops went on a smokkie raiding spree, and relieved two illegal liquor outlets of all their dop.
Acting Manenberg Police Station commander, Colonel Sanele Zama, says officers are keeping their word, ahead of the festive season. They are trying to reduce the amount of illegal shebeens in the precinct, and not even the Springboks’ victory over England in the Rugby World Cup final could stop them.
He says shortly after 5pm, mense at a yaardt in Patricia Court who were suiping and celebrating, got a surprise visit by a team of officers led by Sergeant Peter Snyers.
Zama says the designated liquor officer responded to complaints about a 32-year-old woman selling dop from her council flat and on arrival, found people suiping at the yaardt.
They searched her fridges and found 28 bottles of Castle Lager, four Black Label beers and 16 Redd’s ciders.
She was taken to the station where she paid an admission of guilt fine of R500 for selling liquor without a licence.
RAID: The police seize dop supply innie Heideveld. Picture supplied
The team then moved on to a house in Elsieskraal where they found a 23-year-old man with a moerse dop supply stored in deep freezers.
Zama says: “This individual has been arrested before, and while people do not drink at this property, they are selling without a licence.
“Officers found 162 Black Labels, 82 Castle Lagers, 31 bottles of Redd’s, seven Strongbow ciders and four bottles of Hunter’s Dry.
“He paid R1000 admission of guilt fine as he had been arrested for a similar offence before.”
Yaardt parties run dry as cops seize dop. Picture supplied
Zama says each year during the festive season, police see a sharp increase in the amount of assault cases, which officers have found is linked to rampant alcohol abuse.
“The assault cases shoot up because people are drunk and more likely to get into fights,” he says.
“We have made a promise to keep clamping down on illegal outlets and those who continue to sell without a licence.
“It was a good game on Saturday and the Bokke kept us on our toes, but people cannot break the law and then claim they are celebrating because of the rugby.”