Police take flak after tavern raid
A tavern owner has cried foul after police raided his establishment, C-class, and allegedly seized more than R200 000 worth of alcohol during Operation Okae Malao in Vosloorus this month.
Morgen Mabena was at the premises at the time of the raid, as the tavern is being renovated.
“I told them that the place is not operating and that the keys are with the owner.
“They simply started taking alcohol. I showed them the liquor licence, which was placed on the fridge door inside the store. They said it’s fake.
“The owner also tried sending them the digital copy, but they insisted that they will check the documents once they get to the station,” claimed Mabena.
He was arrested, charged with contravening the Gauteng Liquor Act and held for more than six hours before being released on bail.
C-class manager Molefe Nyakale said the business had a licence that was renewed every year.
He questioned the police’s conduct after they used grinders to open the tavern’s storeroom and a bolt cutter to gain access to alcohol stored in fridges.
“I was on my way to a funeral at Soweto when I got a call to inform me about the raid. I had to ... return to Vosloorus. Unfortunately, the police were already done when I got here,” said Nyakale.
“When I went to the Vosloorus Saps, I was not allowed in the station. No one was willing to assist me. I had to wait until 4pm when I got my lawyer to intervene.
“This is when I found there was no docket and I was not allowed to check how my stock was recorded.”
The tavern had not been operating since the country moved to Level 3 lockdown in December last year.
According to Mabena, the charges were later dropped at Vosloorus magistrate’s court. The docket was allegedly due to be handed back to the investigating officer.
“This is the third time [police took alcohol from the tavern],” he said, adding the business had lost more than R400 000 between 2019 and 2021.
Vosloorus Saps did not have detailed information on the case and the detective in charge was not available.
–