Someone starts where the pile of tyres, of all shapes and sizes, begins and walks all the way to the end of the tyres, giving an idea of the number of tyres. | Screenshot
Durban — The Durban Metro Police Service has taken residents on a tour, via a video, of the tyres that were gathered to be used during the national shutdown on Monday.
The Metro Police said: “These are tyres that protesters were planning to place … at strategic points so to burn them during demonstrations yesterday (Monday), the Durban Metro Police Service, working with the UIP (Urban Improvement Precinct) dealt with these elements of criminality profusely.”
In the video, someone starts where the pile of tyres, of all shapes and sizes, begins and walks all the way to the end of the tyres, giving an idea of the number of tyres.
Although it could not be established how many tyres were there, it looked like there were a few hundred or a little over a thousand tyres.
Meanwhile, National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the number of tyres that were confiscated throughout the country remains at 24 300. These were tyres that were strategically placed for acts of criminality, such as blocking roads.
She said that 6 000 tyres were seized in the Western Cape, 4 500 in the Free State, 3 600 in Gauteng, 1 513 in the Eastern Cape and a few in other provinces.
Mathe also provided an update on arrests stemming from the shutdown.
“The Natjoints as of 10pm on, March 20, 2023, arrested more than 550 protesters for, among others, public violence, intimidation, damage to critical infrastructure, theft and attempted looting.
“Of those arrested, Gauteng recorded the highest number of arrests with 149, the Northern Cape recorded the second highest number with 95 arrests, the Eastern Cape also saw 80 protesters arrested, followed by the Free State with 64 arrests,” she said.
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