Ekurhuleni metro police have arrested five taxi marshals who were allegedly giving spot fines of between R3,000 and R6,000 to motorists in Tembisa for using their vehicles to go to the nearby mall.
They were allegedly forcing everyone to use taxis, not their private vehicles nor e-hailing vehicles.
Spokesperson Thabiso Makgato said the men were arrested when they forcefully took a metro police officer's vehicle at Mall of Tembisa when he went there to buy groceries.
“The officer managed to call for back up and five suspects, between the ages of 26 and 30 were arrested.”
According to Makgato, there had been multiple complaints of a group harassing and intimidating members of the community, who use their personal vehicles for shopping at the Mall of Tembisa.
“The modus operandi is that they issue fines between R3,000 and R6,000 for a person found using their personal vehicle.
“The group was detained at Tembisa police station, facing charges of harassment and intimidation. They are expected to appear at the Tembisa magistrate’s court soon,” said Makgato.
The Ekurhuleni metro police will continue to monitor the area, she said.
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