WESTERN CAPE NEWS - One of police minister Bheki Cele's greatest headaches since the Covid-19 lockdown has been the growing spate of alcohol theft since his announcement that, under the Disaster Management Act "all bottle stores are illegal". "This means we have to arrest anyone who sells alcohol and seize everything including refrigerators. That is what we are going to do."

Cele, who has frequented the Western Cape since the lockdown started, was accompanied by senior police officials for a visit to this neck of the woods. By the beginning of this week (13 April), he confirmed 16 liquor stores had been burgled and that the Western Cape was leading the pack.

Cele vowed to deal harshly with those found selling liquor during this period. "I don't know where this tendency comes from," he was quoted as saying. "It started in Langa. When I asked some of the suspects who have been arrested why they did it, they said they are hungry. I asked them how can they steal alcohol when they are hungry?"

The minister said some of the burglaries seemed planned while others were spontaneous. "In some cases, people just see alcohol and decide they want it. While in other cases there is some planning that goes on. For instance, in Mbekweni they had a saw which they used to cut the chains. They also used a shovel to break the door. You cannot say that happened spontaneously. It tells you that people sat down and planned it," said Cele. – Elaine King

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