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A Kariega tavern owner was fined and his premises closed for the night for selling alcohol to minors.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu, says this followed high-density operations across Nelson Mandela Bay this weekend, focussing on taverns, drug posts as well as illegal firearms and ammunition.
She said the tavern owner in the Kamesh policing precinct was fined R2500 for allowing minors onto his premises.
"Three young girls (aged 16 to 17) were removed from the tavern," she said, adding that the tavern owner will also be reported to the Eastern Cape Liquor Board.
Naidu said some of the operations were led by NMB District Commissioner, Major-General Vuysile Nqata, who expressed his concern about the number of underaged people socialising in local taverns.
"We will clamp down hard and fast on tavern owners who allow under-aged drinking and admission of minors," he warned.
Police said a total of 83 people were arrested during the operations for crimes ranging from murder and attempted murder to the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The crackdown comes in the wake of the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy in Scenery Park in East London where 21 young people died mysteriously last month. The cause of death is still unknown as the forensic reports have not yet been completed.
