Truck drivers operating in the vicinity of the Durban port were caught in a blockade by a group of protesters on Monday.

Police spokesman Lt-Col Thulani Zwane said about 40 people had blockaded a road in the Bayhead area‚ forcing truck drivers to stop.

"They were allegedly cutting the wires from the trucks‚ forcing them to be immobile.

"A case of malicious damage to property was opened at the Maydon Wharf police station."

Zwane said no arrests had been made and the road had been cleared.

It is not clear what sparked the blockade.

However‚ a community crime-watch group claimed on social media platforms that the blockade was related to foreign drivers.

On Sunday‚ traffic on the N3 highway between Pietermaritzburg and Durban came to a standstill following a blockade by aggrieved truckers.

It is understood that the blockade‚ which affected traffic in the Cliffdale area‚ was related to poor working conditions and the employment of foreigners by local trucking companies.

Transport minister Blade Nzimande called for the arrest of protesting truckers and the impounding of their vehicles.

He said it was "disingenuous" of truck drivers to stage a blockade when the department had engaged with the All Truck Drivers Foundation and the National Truck Drivers Foundation about challenges facing SA truck drivers.

"The department of labour was tasked to conduct unannounced inspections to unscrupulous employers disregarding employment laws and the law-enforcement officers were tasked to identify routes with high volumes‚ particularly routes used by cross-border trucks‚ so that they can conduct multi-disciplinary roadblock operations‚" said Nzimande.