Cape Town - Dozens of armed metro police officers swooped on suspected drug dens and gang safe houses in Lavender Hill on Wednesday.
Teams of officers kicked down doors and made residents lie on the floor as they ripped through mattresses and checked for drugs, illegal firearms and stolen goods.
For the next few days, Lavender Hill will be under “total lockdown”, with officers patrolling on foot and traffic officials searching cars. Cape Town’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will continue issuing search warrants and looking for contraband.
Lavender Hill has a long history of violent gang wars over drug turf. Last July, Premier Helen Zille asked President Jacob Zuma to deploy the army to stabilise the area, saying 23 people - including seven children - had died in the preceding months.
Kevin Southgate, chairperson of the area’s community police forum, said that there had subsequently been a lull in the violence - especially after the police permanently deployed an armoured Nyala to the area in August.
“We welcome any intervention, but the concerns also remain. Is this commitment going to be on-off and shortlived? Or will it be sustained?” he asked.
On Wednesday, the Cape Argus witnessed four homes being searched, resulting in two arrests - one for the possession of about 400g of tik and a military-issue stun grenade, another for possession of a parcel of dagga.
Metro police chief Wayne le Roux said that increasingly powerful firearms were being confiscated by his officers.
“In the past few days we have confiscated a Z88 9mm pistol, an AK-47 and an LM-6 assault rifle. These are high-calibre guns, and it’s incredibly concerning that there are probably many more out there.”
“Operation Choke” was the city’s “retaliation” to the murder of traffic officer Wesley Woodman in Lavender Hill last week, said JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security.
Woodman was gunned down as he was issuing a fine to an alleged gangster, Shuaib Arafdien. Arafdien, the apparent target, was also killed.
“We want to make lives difficult for the gang bosses. Through arrests and the confiscation of drugs and guns we hit the gangster economy at its heart. Criminals must know that this is what can be expected every time an official, traffic or police officer becomes a target in a violent attack.
“We are working towards a time where gang bosses will punish their foot soldiers for killing an officer of the law, because of the fear of such retaliations from the authorities.”
Woodman and Arafdien’s deaths followed an Easter weekend of violence in the area, with at least six shootings. Two people were killed and a number of others injured.
“There has been information that suggests imminent plans for a series of further retaliatory shootings in the area. This operation can therefore also be seen as a period of calm and stabilisation, to mitigate against an escalation of the violence.”
Smith said as guns and drugs were confiscated, gang bosses needed to transport new supplies into and around Lavender Hill. For the first time in such an operation, law enforcement foot patrols and traffic services roadblocks have been co-opted to assist police by searching people and vehicles travelling around the neighbourhood.
“We’ll stop the same taxi half a dozen times in a single day, because any one of those trips could be used to run guns or drugs,” Smith said.
But not everyone in the community is impressed by the operation.
Leaning on crutches after being hit twice in the crossfire of a shooting on Easter Saturday, resident Junior Kazinsquy observed one of the roadblocks with some bemusement.
“You have to take these operations with a pinch of salt. It’s a publicity stunt. The police at Steenberg (the local station) are corrupt. Even if they weren’t, you can’t address the problem without looking at the root causes.”
February-June 2012
Seven children are killed and six are injured in the crossfire of gang warfare in and around Lavender Hill. In Steenberg on June 28, eight-year-old Zunaid McKenzie is shot in the head and killed. Clive Jacobs, head of the Lavender Hill Youth Outreach Project, says the first half of 2012 has been the worst in terms of gang violence in years.
July 9, 2012
Premier Helen Zille writes to President Jacob Zuma asking him to deploy the South African National Defence Force to stabilise Lavender Hill. She says 23 people have been killed in and around Lavender Hill in recent months.
July 11, 2012
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, with national police commissioner Riah Phiyega and provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer, visit Lavender Hill and Hanover Park. Mthethwa says bringing in the army to help combat gang violence is “out of the question” as it would turn the areas into war zones.
September 2012
After 10 weeks with no shootings reported, Kevin Southgate, chairperson of the Steenberg Community Police Forum, says an armoured police vehicle parked near Lavender Hill flats where three rival gangs operate had had calmed the violence.
September 2012 - March 2013
Southgate says the lull continues.
Easter 2013
Violence spirals over the Easter weekend, with six shootings resulting in two deaths and a number of injuries.
April 3, 2013
Traffic officer Wesley Woodman is gunned down and killed on Prince George Drive, Lavender Hill, as he issues a traffic fine to Shuaib Arafdien. Arafdien, allegedly a member of the Junkie Funkies gang, is also killed in the attack. - Cape Argus