Thousands of litres of dop confiscated from Cape Flats beaches went down the drain on Thursday as the City of Cape Town unveiled their summer safety plan.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says in the previous financial year, Law Enforcement officers confiscated 16 926 bottles of booze equating to 11 516 litres of liquor.
He says nearly half of this was collected on only three days 1818 bottles at the switch-on of the Krismis lights, 2126 bottles on Boxing Day and 3805 bottles on New Year’s Day.
“The statistics prove that, for some, there is no fun to be had without alcohol.”
Smith says dopping at the beach is illegal and the main cause of drownings and injuries, yet mense continue to find inventive ways to flous the law.
This includes decanting the dop into cooldrink bottles, hiding it in the sand and drinking with straws, and using little kids to hide the liquor on their person as they are often not searched by officers.
“Persons who are found with alcohol are fined R500 and provided with a receipt listing the exact items confiscated, in the event that they want to reclaim their goods upon paying an impoundment release fee of R624,” says Smith.
GONE: 16 926 bottles of booze
“Alcohol is kept in storage for three months, after which it is disposed of in terms of the City’s by-laws.”
He says while the City is often criticised for getting rid of the dop, instead of selling it or auctioning it off to raise funds, there were legal issues to consider.
One is that the City would need a liquor licence to sell the alcohol.