Durban Metro cops arrest 83 drunk drivers
Long-weekend ops bear fruit as police recover R2.4m in stolen vehicles and issue warrants for traffic offenses Long-weekend ops bear fruit as police recover R2.4m in stolen vehicles and issue warrants for traffic offenses
Durban - Eighty-three drunk drivers and stolen vehicles worth R2.4 million are among the Durban metro police’s haul from operations over the long weekend.
Metro senior superintendent Parboo Sewpersadh said the police held roadblocks and sting operations throughout Durban and the city’s immediate surrounding areas.
“So far, we’ve apprehended 83 drunken drivers and served warrants of R78 650 for various traffic offences,” he said.
In two separate sting operations, acting on information received about stolen goods, they raided a residence in an informal settlement in the KwaMashu area.
“Our members recovered 32 stolen cellphones with an estimated street value of R80 000,” said Sewpersadh. In another raid, he said, R2.4 million worth of stolen cars were recovered.
“The raid took place in the south Durban area. Metro police found the vehicles at some residences identified as belonging to a suspected car syndicate,” he said. “Some of the cars were found abandoned near the syndicate’s base.
“It is suspected that these abandoned cars could have been dumped by suspects, which is what members of these syndicates usually do when the heat is on. They abandon the vehicle for a while and fetch it later.”
Arrests
Metro police were also involved in the arrests of 16 suspects related to a shooting incident at the taxi rank in Brook Street, Pinetown, on Friday.
A group of heavily armed men travelling in a Toyota Quantum minibus stormed the taxi rank and fired multiple times before speeding off.
Three people were seriously injured and taken to hospital. A 56-year-old man later died. The 16 men were arrested and 17 firearms were seized; nine rifles, a shotgun and seven pistols.
Meanwhile, drivers appear to be behaving on provincial roads, according to the provincial Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI). Spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu said only one motorist was caught yesterday, travelling at 173km/* on the South Coast road.
“He was stopped at Umkhomazi by Winklespruit RTI. He was driving a white Mercedes-Benz with a GP registration The accused is expected to appear at the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.”
Mngomezulu said road blocks were planned across the province as per their “365 Plan”.
“We are committed to having intensified law enforcement on our roads for 365 days of the year. We covered strategic areas across the province, according to those that we have identified as hot-spot areas, where accidents frequently happen.
“We did not have many arrests over the long weekend thus far. It’s not the number of arrests that matters, but to see people complying with the rules of the road and seeing a reduction in crashes and fatalities in our province,” said Mngomezulu.