A Parow shop owner is in the mang after his customer piemped him for selling entjies illegally during the nationwide lockdown.
Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason says the 26-year-old man was stopped by officers on Monday shortly after 1pm.
“Officers came across a male cycling on the corners of Victoria Road and Chart Street, Parow.
“He was in clear violation of the lockdown regulations so they questioned him. He disclosed he went to buy cigarettes, at a shop.”
Dyason says the cyclist took three packets of entjies out of his pocket and showed it to the officers and then led them straight to the winkel.
“He led the officers to a café in Voortrekker Road where the owner confirmed selling him the cigarettes.
“The owner was selling cigarettes openly and during a search of the shop officers found 1475 packets of cigarettes on the premises to the value of R87 325.”
He says while the cyclist was fined R1000 for failing to stay at home under the Disaster Management Act, the 35-year-old shop owner was arrested and taken to Parow Police Station for selling prohibited items.
ILLEGAL: Ban on entjie sales
Meanwhile Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith says Metro Police had their hands full with shopkeepers selling entjies and violating the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Our enforcement efforts show that many shopkeepers continue to sell cigarettes. While one has an appreciation for the principle of supply and demand, the reality is that, for the moment, selling cigarettes is against the law, and shopkeepers are putting themselves at risk of arrest,” Smith said.
Officers confiscated 179 packs of tobacco, 918 loose cigarettes, 4 894 packets of cigarettes and two-and-a-half boxes of cigarettes during the past week.