The Garden Route police have arrested 70 suspects in a crack down on drug and liquor offences. Picture: Facebook / SAPS
The police’s effort to put an end to substance abuse at the weekend provided excellent results with the arrest of 70 suspects for drug and liquor related offences in the Garden Route District. Substance abuse remains a major factor that contributes to serious and violent crimes over weekends.
The crackdown, targeting drug outlets, involved a series of sting operations, focused initiatives and stop-and-search exercises, said the police statement by Sergeant Christopher Spies.
These efforts led to the arrest of 62 individuals for drug possessions and six others on charges of drug dealing. Among the confiscated substances were tik, mandrax and dagga.
The city of George saw a majority of these arrests, with George police station arresting 10 suspects, Conville 14 suspects and nine in Pacaltsdorp.
On Thursday, August 8, members of the Oudtshoorn Crime Prevention Unit and Crime Intelligence acted on information during a targeted operation at the Oudtshoorn taxi rank.
Their vigilance resulted in the confiscation of 17 bankies of tik and a small quantity of Mandrax, leading to the arrest of two suspects, aged 24 and 34, both charged with drug dealing.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, August 10, the Garden Route Crime Combating Team and Knysna Crime Prevention Unit conducted operations in Knysna.
Acting on intelligence, they searched a house in Concordia, Knysna, where they discovered 811 grams of tik. The team arrested a 31-year-old undocumented individual on charges of drug dealing.
Police also arrested two suspects, aged 41 and 45, for selling alcohol without the required licences in The Crags, outside Plettenberg, and Da Gamaskop in Mossel Bay.
During these operations, officers confiscated 326 litres of various alcohol brands.
All suspects will appear in court once they have been formally charged.
These arrests and seizures are part of broader efforts to secure communities, with a particular focus on curbing Gender-Based Violence and femicide, which continue to affect various areas in the region.
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