"Officers confiscated 11,570 bottles of alcohol amounting to 8677 litres, including 5678 bottles of beer, 4650 bottles of cider, 741 bottles of wine and 501 bottles of spirits, councillor JP Smith said in a statement.

"We've witnessed the direct correlation between the confiscation totals and other enforcement challenges and the net result was a quieter festive season for us," he said.

"There was also a significant reduction in the number of drowning incidents at our beaches. I am quite convinced that our alcohol operations played a significant role in saving lives."

People who had their alcohol confiscated have three months to collect it from the pound, provided they pay a release fee of R1400.

So far nobody has taken up the offer, said Smith.

Smith added that a Matroosfontein tavern owner became the first person to be convicted in terms of the Control of Undertakings that Sell Liquor to the Public By-law of 2013.

He was fined R2500 in the Goodwood Municipal Court last Monday for contravening trading hours. He had been nabbed trading after hours and on Sundays.