-Edited by Bev Mortimer- In a huge anti-crime operation with traffic officers and SAPS members, traffic and liquor fines were issued, taverns closed, 11 arrests were made and more police ops occurred last night, 6 May, in the Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth( aka Port Elizabeth/PE).
Eastern Cape SAPS Lt Gen Nomthetheleli Mene in the Nelson Mandela Bay District last night with her ‘foot soldiers ‘. Photo SAPS
This was part of an ‘Operation Vhutu Hawe’ (Our Army) led by the SAPS Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Nomthetheleli Mene, in Gqeberha (aka Port Elizabeth/PE).
Lt Gen Mene, led her ‘foot soldiers’ in special operations in ‘hotspot’ crime areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Metro District of PE, resulting in 11 arrests, six of which were drug related, three for illegal selling of alcohol and two for drunken driving.
Photo: SAPS
Road Traffic Act fines totalling R34k were issued at a roadblock in Stanford Road, Gelvandale. Several stop and searches were conducted at various locations in PE and Kwanobuhle. Fines totaling R36k were issued for illegal electrical connections, which were then disconnected and three taverns were shut down for non-compliance and alcohol was confiscated.
The SAPS visited 22 taverns in the district and confiscated 286 litres of alcohol and 1282 litres of home-brewed concoctions.
Police officers from other policing districts in the Eastern Cape and NMB traffic and metro police formed part of the special operations under the banner ‘Operation Vhutu Hawe’. The anti-crime operations focused on drunken driving, illegal taverns and shebeens, proliferation of firearms and stolen goods in Gelvandale, Bethelsdorp, New Brighton, Kwazakele and Kwanobuhle respectively.
Lt Gen Mene hailed the operation as a success.”The PE Metro was flooded with law enforcement and the proactive approach has made an impact,” she said.
“More boots on the ground re-enforces police visibility and limits the space for any form of criminality and deters criminals from flouting the law. Police were out in their numbers conducting patrols, stop and search operations, cordon and searches and roadblocks.
“They also conducted compliance inspections and shut down establishments operating outside the law. There was an impact in our focus areas where alcohol consumption is high especially on weekends,” Lt Gen Mene added.
St Francis Chronicle 