WATCH | Cele destroys about 30,000 litres of alcohol in Khayelitsha after latest mass shooting

Police minister Bheki Cele flushed away about 30,000 litres of confiscated alcohol on Monday in Khayelitsha, Western Cape.

Cele visited the township to interact with community members after multiple shootings at the weekend claimed the lives of 11 people.

Three men, aged 34, 36, and 50, were shot dead on the corner of Nyebelele and Ntango streets in Site C on Saturday. The motive is under investigation and the perpetrators are still at large.

In an unrelated incident, two men in their 30s were shot dead in Tutu Avenue, Makhaza in Harare, on Saturday night. The victims, driving a blue Hyundai sedan, were shot by the occupants of a white VW Polo which fled the scene.

“SA Police top brass interacted with this densely populated community that’s grappling with high levels of violent crime, alcohol and drug abuse, a proliferation of firearms, high number of illegal liquor outlets,” said Cele's spokesperson Lirandzu Themba.

Speaking at the crime-fighting imbizo at the Desmond Tutu Community Hall, Cele said additional officers would be deployed to work around the clock to solve the weekend killings.

“Eighty-six officers have now been shifted from more affluent areas where crime is under control, or in some instances non-existent, and moved to high priority stations such as Khayelitsha. We believe this shift will assist heavily in proactive and reactive policing,” he said.

Cele said the assistance from community patrollers, community policing forums and neighbourhood watches also needed to be ramped up urgently.

Earlier this month, Cele said police had made a breakthrough in tackling violent crime in the area after the arrest of alleged prominent extortion gang member Yanga “Bara” Nyalara, 30.

Nyalara faces multiple counts of murder and attempted murder related to a mass shooting on May 15 2021 at Y-block, Site B in Khayelitsha.