s 23 Powers of arrest
23.—(1) An inspector authorised by the Director‑General in that behalf may —(a) arrest without warrant any person whom the inspector reasonably suspects of committing or having committed an offence under this Act; and (b) search the person arrested and seize anything which the inspector reasonably believes may be required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act.[Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (2) Where the inspector makes an arrest under subsection (1)(a), the inspector must, without unnecessary delay, produce the person before a Magistrate. (3) The inspector must not detain in custody a person arrested under subsection (1)(a) for a longer period than is reasonable under the circumstances of the case. (4) The period that a person arrested under subsection (1)(a) may be detained in custody must not exceed 48 hours, excluding the time for any necessary journey to the Magistrate’s Court. (5) A woman or girl must not be searched under subsection (1)(b) except by a woman. (6) When a person is arrested under subsection (1)(a) or appears or is brought before a court and is prepared at any time while in the custody of the inspector or at any stage of the proceedings before the court to give bail, that person must be released on bail by any inspector in such cases as are specified in orders issued by the Director‑General or by that court.[Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (7) The inspector or the court, if he, she or it thinks fit, may, instead of taking bail from a person mentioned in subsection (6), discharge the person on the person executing a bond without sureties as may be sufficient to secure the person’s appearance.[15I