Western Cape cops seize bubbly, crayfish, drugs, stolen cars during raids

Stolen bubbly, a huge haul of crayfish tails as well as drugs, guns and cars were among the items seized by Western Cape police this week, according to statements sent in the wake of the murders of two police officers.

The murders of Lieutenant Charl Kinnear and Sergeant Thabile Maphoma rocked the policing community this week, which is also under pressure after the death in custody of Leroy Oliphant.

On Wednesday, a delegation of top police officers and the Hawks accompanied Police Minister Bheki Cele on a visit to Cape Town where the formation of a steering committee to crack down on protection fees connected to organised crime rings was announced.

As the police fanned out on Thursday, one of the province’s organised crime and anti-hijacking units’ cases was the mysterious disappearance of a truck full of bubbly whose tracking device had been jammed.

The hijacking had taken place in Elsies River, with 36 pallets of sparkling wine going missing.

The truck was eventually found empty in Lansdowne Road, Cape Town, and the police eventually found it had a made a stop in Ottery.

After a stakeout, a truck was tailed from that address and pulled over. A search yielded 320 of the boxes of sparkling wine and a later search of the place where the truck had stopped yielded another 771.

Three people were arrested for being in possession of stolen property worth around R1 million.

Also on Thursday, while the police were in the process of taking in a man in Bishop Lavis after a stolen Toyota Tazz was tracked down, they noticed a woman “throwing a bag” away.

On inspection, mandrax tablets were found in the bag and she was also arrested.

In the course of the week, the police also found eight abandoned packets of tik (crystal methamphetamine) in grass in Leonsdale and arrested a suspect for possession of mandrax and tik in Ruytenwacht near Goodwood.

A white Nissan Sentra that had been hijacked in Mfuleni was also found hidden in Clarke Estate.

In an unrelated case, also on Thursday, a 24-year-old man, believed to be a local gang member, appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court for allegedly dealing in drugs.

High-speed chase

The police had chased after his VW Polo in Bonteheuwel and after a high-speed chase, arrested him and allegedly found tik and cash in his car.

In Ocean View, also on Thursday night, two unlicenced guns and ammunition were found at a residence, and two men were arrested.

Attending to a shooting near flats, another three men were arrested for alleged possession of ammunition.

On Friday, Grabouw police intercepted a consignment of crayfish and crayfish tails in plastic bags and recycled rice bags on the N2.

They seized 12,807 crayfish tails and 377 whole crayfish. Two men were arrested and are expected to appear in court on Monday.

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