Johannesburg - The City of Cape Town had a quieter festive season due to the confiscation of almost 12 000 bottles of alcohol during its crackdown on violations of its alcohol laws, a councillor said on Sunday.
"Officers confiscated 11 570 bottles of alcohol amounting to 8 677l, including 5 678 bottles of beer, 4 650 bottles of cider, 741 bottles of wine and 501 bottles of spirits, councillor JP Smith said in a statement.
"We’ve witnessed the direct correlation between the confiscation totals and other enforcement challenges and the net result was a quieter festive season for us," he said.
"There was also a significant reduction in the number of drowning incidents at our beaches. I am quite convinced that our alcohol operations played a significant role in saving lives."
People who had their alcohol confiscated have three months to collect it from the pound, provided they pay a release fee of R1 400.
So far nobody has taken up the offer, said Smith.
Smith added that a Matroosfontein tavern owner became the first person to be convicted in terms of the Control of Undertakings that Sell Liquor to the Public By-law of 2013.
He was fined R2 500 in the Goodwood Municipal Court last Monday for contravening trading hours. He had been nabbed trading after hours and on Sundays.