Illegal liquor sellers among 1,443 people arrested in KZN for lockdown non-compliance

A total of 1,443 people have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal since Friday for failing to comply with the national lockdown regulations.

This was revealed by MEC for transport, community and safety liaison Bheki Ntuli on Thursday.

Ntuli was speaking during a roadblock on the R102 in KwaDukuza, north of Durban.

He said the arrests were made during various raids and roadblocks held across the province.

“I wish to commend our law enforcement agencies for arresting 1,443 people in the province since Friday, March 27 2020, which demonstrates that we are serious about clamping down on those that are contravening the regulations.”

Ntuli said the arrests were related to offences including various categories of crime, overloading and failure to adhere to lockdown regulations.

“Our law enforcement agencies are implementing a zero-tolerance policy against the contravention of the lockdown regulations. Police will continue to conduct multidisciplinary law enforcement operations, road safety awareness campaigns and education activations about the coronavirus in the province to ensure safety on our roads and to save people’s lives,” he said.

Ntuli, accompanied by provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula and a heavy police contingent, raided taverns in Shaka’s Head, where they were checking if liquor vendors were adhering to the new regulations.

He said in KwaDukuza alone, 33 arrests had been made since the lockdown was implemented.

“Out of the total arrests made 10, are liquor related, while 14 people were arrested for failing to adhere to the social distancing rule and nine cases related to public transport operators for failing to adhere to the maximum loading capacity,” Ntuli said.