As part of the long-running fight against Coronavirus, Maun Police cracked down hard on Covid-19 violators over the weekend.
The three-day operation, which ran from Friday to Sunday, saw a total of 168 people charged for not wearing facemasks when out in public.
A further 88 were fined for breaking the 10pm curfew, whilst seven were caught selling alcohol at their homesteads. The booze was subsequently confiscated and the culprits charged.
Giving an update on what he termed a successful operation, Maun Station Commander, Chenamo Orateng told The Voice the blatant disregard for Covid regulations in the area was becoming a concern.
“We have about 11 cases of unlawful gathering and 36 cases of drinking at ungazetted areas. We charged two business for violating trading terms and this is a clear indication that people are not complying.”
One of the offending businesses was caught selling alcohol out of trading hours whilst the other was busted operating at the weekend when the sale of liquor is prohibited.
Despite only charging seven people for selling alcohol at homesteads, Orateng expressed alarm at this seemingly increasing trend.
“There are so many people who sell alcohol illegally. They do not have trading licences and people gather at their yards to buy and drink alcohol even though gathering is discouraged in this Covid-19 era,” highlighted the top cop, calling on wholesalers to desist from selling alcohol to unlicenced individuals.
“We have observed that the people who buy alcohol to re-sell at their homes buy from wholesalers despite the fact that they do not have licences for selling alcohol,” revealed Orateng.
The police boss further urged the town’s residents to stick to the protocols in place to curb the pandemic’s spread.
He promised Maun police would continue to carry out such operations as and when they see fit.
“Covid-19 is real and is still existing amongst us. Let us try by all means to comply with the regulations that were put before us by the Ministry of Health. Those of you who drink alcohol kindly buy and drink at the comfort of your home to avoid crowding,” pleaded Orateng, speaking to The Voice on Monday morning, hours before the sale of booze was banned.
