R24 000 worth of fines issued

THE Rail Enforcement Unit (REU) arrested eight suspects for various crimes, issuing fines worth R24 000.

The arrests during operations with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Protection Services and Claremont and Parow, involved possession of stolen property, malicious damage to property and possession of drugs, said Metrorail, the City and provincial government in a joint statement.

They said the arrests and fines were carried out, during 17 joint inspections of 26 crime hotspots and scrap-yards, over the past week.

It involved impounding 34 metres of signalling cable, 16m of copper cabling, as well as five arrests for heroin, five Section 56 notices to appear in court, 13 Section 341 notices (fines), 219 stop and search actions, seven confiscations, two assistance actions to the public and attending to a complaint.

Mayor Dan Plato said: “Week after week, the rail safety enforcement unit shows the value that they are adding in helping to keep our commuters safe.”

Metrorail Western Cape regional manager Richard Walker said: “It is encouraging to see (that) the concept of a specialised unit is successful.” |