1,5 tons of dagga go up in smoke
Awhopping 1,5 tons of confiscated cannabis, with an estimated street value of R4-million, as well as various illegal and handmade weapons, were destroyed by the Southern Cape police on Tuesday 4 December.
This forms part of the annual Safer Festive Season campaign that kicked off in October.
"We want our visitors and residents to be safe during this period," said Southern Cape Cluster commander, MajGen Oswald Reddy, at a media conference on Tuesday morning.
According to Reddy, the abuse and misuse of alcohol and drugs are among the biggest contributors to crime.
"People under the influence of these substances are generally more likely to become victims of crime as they are less vigilant."
Since the start of the campaign 5 358 people have been arrested for various crimes. Of these, 1 675 were people who used alcohol in public and 108 were arrested for domestic violence, fines for the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition totalled 1 926, and 1 081 407 litres of alcohol was seized. Several drugs, including cocaine, heroin, cat, Mandrax and tik have also been confiscated.
During the conference, Reddy spoke about the police's plans for the festive season and
how they will collaborate with various neighbourhood watches, community police forum (CPF) members and other crime prevention and law enforcement units to clamp down on criminals this year.
"We will apply maximum deployment of our members to various shopping centres, tourist attractions, nightclubs and beaches. Regular road blocks will also be held in conjunction with the local and provincial traffic departments," he said.
"In order to increase visibility, our operational support members will be redeployed over the festive season to enhance visibility in affected areas where their services are required. They will be assisted by neighbourhood watch members, reservists as well as Bambanani volunteers. Foot patrollers will also service the CBD during peak times."