The establishments were closed down after police found out they had no licenses or shebeen permits. Captain Fritz Kriel of the Douglasdale Police Station said a lot of the time criminals go to these illegal traders to get drunk before they go out to commit crimes.
“Most of the times when we search people in these places we find they have dangerous weapons in their possession,” said Kriel.
He explained that they do not target people, nor are they there to punish people but to provide a service to the community. “We hope the community, especially in the informal settlements, can see this and support us,” he appealed.
According to Cleo Bodile-Lushaba of the Gauteng Liquor Board, it is important to regulate the places that sell alcohol because alcohol is a potentially harmful substance and they cannot let it go unregulated. “Alcohol consumption does lead to crimes in our communities. We want an appropriate number of these places [legal establishments] in our communities so it is easy to bring up kids,” she said.
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