The City of Cape Town’s law enforcement agencies may become more active around Strand Street, as it has flagged more than one drug-related incident in the area. This is after a man was caught on dashcam attempting to take back confiscated dagga from Cape Town Metro Police officers.
According to the City, the incident took place in the early hours of 12 July, after a Metro Police officer noticed a suspicious vehicle driving without lights. She alerted a colleague, and the car was later found parked in Darling Street.
A man approached the vehicle, reached through the driver’s window, and appeared to pocket something. As officers came closer, the man outside the car fled on foot, and the car sped off. The officers gave chase and stopped the vehicle in Strand Street.
They found 97.97 grams of dagga and an undisclosed amount of cash in the driver’s possession.
During the search, the passenger became aggressive and tried to snatch the seized dagga from an officer. In the footage, the man is seen lunging at an officer before fleeing. The incident ended with the man’s arrest after a brief chase through the CBD.
The City says the officer’s left hand was injured.
A 23-year-old was arrested for assaulting an officer and defeating the ends of justice. The 34-year-old driver was arrested for drug dealing.
Exactly one week later, on Saturday, 19 July, CCTV operators spotted another drug-related incident in the same area. A 37-year-old man was caught buying suspected drugs on Strand Street. Metro Police found a packet of tik on him, and he was arrested and taken to Cape Town Central Police Station.
“City enforcement arrests hundreds of people on a monthly basis for possession of narcotics… The number of victims impacted by one drug user or dealer grows exponentially when we take into account the loved ones and neighbours who have to deal with the fall out of the abuse and we owe it to our residents to continue to fight for more policing powers,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.
