The suspects were among 98 arrests by the City’s Traffic Service in the last week.

It was a troubled start to the week for three taxi drivers who were caught at a vehicle check point on Jakes Gerwel Drive near Viking Way this morning, 8 April 2019.

At 07:05, officers arrested a 26-year-old driver from Philippi who was transporting 27 passengers from Manenberg to Century City. His breath-alcohol sample was 0,45mg/L. The legal limit for drivers with public driving permits is 0.10mg/L, which meant that he was nearly five times over the legal limit. The driver was also served with 17 oustanding warrants.

Moments later, a 27-year-old driver from Khayelitsha was stopped, transporting 21 passengers on the same route. His breath-alcohol level was 0,52mg/L, more than five times the legal limit.

At 07:40, a 24-year-old taxi driver from Nyanga East was stopped. He had ten passengers in the vehicle on route from Nyanga to Goodwood. The driver’s breath-alcohol sample was found to be nearly twice that of the legal limit.

The suspects were all transported to Pinelands SAPS and their vehicles were impounded, two for operating without a valid permit and one for operating contrary to the conditions of his permit.

‘These incidents are becoming so commonplace. It is extremely disappointing. One almost doesn’t know what to say any longer. There is no question that our enforcement agencies are doing the work; the arrest statistics vouch for that. It’s the conviction statistics that are lagging, because why else would people continue to act with reckless abandon?’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

Elsewhere, the Cape Town Traffic Service arrested 95 more suspects, of which 75 were arrested for driving under the influence and the rest were arrested for reckless and negligent driving and outstanding warrants.

Officers also impounded 21 vehicles and issued nearly 800 fines for various transgressions.

The City’s Metro Police Department made 25 arrests for motorists driving under the influence, for possession of drugs and stolen property and for malicious damage to property, among others.

Officers also managed to recover a stolen Toyota Quantum on Wednesday 3 April 2019.

They were flagged down by a member of the public along the N2 who informed them that his vehicle had been hijacked and that the suspects had fled with the driver still in the vehicle.

The officers found the Quantum abandoned in Nkanini informal settlement in Khayelitsha. The driver too was unharmed.

‘The responsiveness of our staff is to be commended. In this instance, they managed to not only find the driver and ensure his safety at the same time, but also to return the vehicle to its owner. Proof of what is possible when crimes are responded to quickly and effectively,’ said Alderman Smith.

Source: City Of Cape Town