Durban - Police have been deployed around Durban to raid suspected drug dens as they try to get to the dealers and manufacturers of the deadly drug popularly known as “Mercedes”.
The drug has claimed the lives of at least four KwaMashu residents believed to be teenagers and left more than 32 in hospital. It is believed there are other cases which have not been reported, and police have urged people to come forward.
Police spokesperson Thulani Zwane said they were aware that people who had information about the manufacturers and dealers might be scared to reveal information that might lead to the arrest of the culprit.
“We appeal to those with information to come forward. So far we have not found anything,” he said.
Pupils from Chesterville who spoke to The Mercury on Sunday said the “new” drug had also reached their area.
“I was going to a party on Friday and one guy who joined us gave my friends and me this drug. We thought it was the same as umgwinyo, which we are used to. We took it and I was high from 11pm partying without getting tired. At about 4am my body started feeling weird. There was no pain, but it was like I am losing my mind,” one teenager said.
Her friend said: “It depends on the dosage. I took four. I am told I was hysterical and running for my life. Fortunately there were people who pressed me to the ground so I would not run away.”
A task team of crime intelligence and local police has been set up with the urgent task of nabbing the dealers. Zwane said the priority was to find samples to send for laboratory testing. He could not give details about the drug and the suspects because of “the sensitivity of the investigation”.
DA spokesperson on police Zakhele Mbhele said setting up a task team was not adequate to ensure a long-term and sustainable solution.
“The task team’s approach has been the default modus operandi of the SAPS to deal with syndicate crime since specialised units were disbanded, from vehicle hijacking to gang violence, but its impact has always been short-lived and failed to stop year-on-year increases in drug-related crime and aggravated robberies,” he said.
Mbhele said the deaths indicated the urgency of implementing the planned narcotics enforcement bureau, and they repeated their call for Police Minister Nathi Nhleko to speed up the roll-out of the bureau in priority clusters. He said this would help crack down on illicit drug trafficking.
“The 2014/15 crime statistics indicate that KwaMashu should be a priority surveillance area because it lies between the two KwaZulu-Natal police precincts that registered the highest number of drug-related crimes in the province, Durban Central and Phoenix,” he said.
The chairperson of the Congress of South African Students in KwaZulu-Natal, Siyabonga Phakathi, said everyone in society had a role to play to eradicate the use and selling of drugs. “Parties organised by students need to be heavily monitored, or not allowed if they don’t have an assurance that they are safe.”
@sphengubane
The Mercury