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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - Mossel Bay Municipality officially launched its K9 Unit at a function on Tuesday, 21 November, with Reagen Allen, Western Cape provincial minister of Community Safety and Police Oversight as one of the main speakers.
Other dignitaries were Mossel Bay executive mayor Dirk Kotzé, Garden Route District Municipality mayor Memory Booysen, manager: Mossel Bay Traffic and Law Enforcement Henry Williamson, Councillor Leon van Dyk and Garden Route police district commander, Major-General Norman Modishana.
The main attraction of the day was the four Belgian Malinois dogs and their handlers. The role players staged a mock exercise, chasing a vehicle suspected of carrying drugs and apprehending the suspects.
The Mossel Bay response unit, of which the K9 unit forms part, works independently in municipal by-law enforcement, but also in conjunction with the police.
Training commenced last year in June, when Mossel Bay became the trendsetter in the Western Cape regarding first responder training, in collaboration with the police.
The scope of its work includes the patrolling of areas such as the central business district; the monitoring and prevention of illegal land occupation, as well as the removal of illegal structures before occupation; and monitoring public nuisances, including unlawful street vendors.
With the K9 Unit, the same applies. The four dogs in the unit have been trained for personal protection and sniffing out endangered species, narcotics and ammunition.
VIDEO - The staged mock exercise of a vehicle chase and apprehension:
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