The raids targeted the city's sacked mayor Zandile Gumede, and more than 10 other people.

Ms Gumede has been charged with corruption over the awarding of a solid waste tender worth 208m South African rand ($13m; £10m) in 2016.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is currently out on bail.

Anti-corruption officers said they were raiding more than 10 properties and seizing 51m rand in assets, the Times Lives news site reported.

It is unclear what exactly has been confiscated from Ms Gumede.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokeswoman Natasha Kara told the News24 site that assets from all the accused had been seized, including upmarket homes in three suburbs and luxury sports cars such as Porsches and Lamborghinis.

"It is a general process. When we believe an accused owns asset that are proceeds of crime, we get an order from the court to confiscate them and put them under curatorship and the assets stay with the curator," she was quoted as saying.

A journalist shared a video of the operation:

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Ms Gumede’s spokesperson Mzomuhle Dube condemned the operation as a "desperate move" and a "beautiful camera action stunt", EWN news reports.

Ms Gumede was forced to resign as mayor of the eThekwini metropolitan area - which includes Durban - after she became mired in the corruption scandal.

She is a prominent member of the governing African National Congress (ANC), and a close ally of ex-President Jacob Zuma who has also been plagued by corruption allegations.

Both allege that they are victims of a political witch-hunt and deny the allegations.