Police pounce on liquor outlets in Yeoville

Two liquor outlets on Rocky Street in Yeoville were closed on Monday last week.

These outlets were closed by the Hillbrow SAPS Cluster and Gauteng Liquor Board during an operation to check their compliance with the Liquor Act.

“Some of the crimes in our area are related to the abuse of alcohol. Some of the patrons are mugged when they are leaving the outlets drunk. Some are robbed at these outlets. This was one of the operations we will have in our area to address the alcohol and substance abuse in our area,” Const Thabo Malatji said.

He said some of the outlets were using licences that were different from what they were trading with.

“Some were selling food and alcohol while their licence allowed for them to sell one and not both,” he said.

“Over capacity was one of the common transgressions. At one of the outlets, a toddler was found whereas the law says there should be no under 18 allowed in. Some of the owners were operating under the previous owners’ names. The law does not permit that. It is like you are operating without a licence,” he said.

He urged owners of the liquor outlets to work with the police in the fight against crime.

“With our operations at these outlets, we are trying to make the area safe and their patrons safe. We urge the traders in our area to work with us to combat crime in our area. We are not fighting the owners, we are fighting crime,” he said.

Const Malatji said liquor and a dagga plant were among the items confiscated during the operation.