- (a) arrest without warrant any person whom he has reason to believe to be committing or to have committed an offence under section 5, 6, 11 or 14; and
- (b) search the person arrested and seize anything which he reasonably considers to be evidence of the commission of the offence.
(2) No woman or girl shall be searched except by a woman.
(3) Where the authorised officer makes an arrest without warrant, he shall, without unnecessary delay, produce the person arrested before a Magistrate.
(4) The authorised officer shall not detain in custody a person arrested without a warrant for a longer period than is reasonable under the circumstances of the case.
(5) The period that a person arrested without a warrant may be detained in custody shall not exceed 48 hours, excluding the time for any necessary journey to the Magistrate’s Court.
Warrant for search and seizure
28.—(1) If a Magistrate is satisfied, on information on oath, that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence under this Act is being, has been or is about to be committed on any premises or that evidence of the commission of such an offence is to be found there, the Magistrate may issue a warrant in writing to an authorised officer to enter the premises, if necessary by force, at such time as may be specified in the warrant and within 14 days of the issue of such warrant (or within such longer period as may be specified in the warrant) and to search them.
(2) An authorised officer who enters the premises under the authority of the warrant may—
- (a) take with him such other person and such equipment as appear to him to be necessary;
- (b) inspect any record, register or other document found on the premises which he has reasonable cause to believe may be required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act;
- (c) take copies of, or seize and remove, such document;
