Caryn Dolley
POLICE Minister Nathi Mthethwa has identified Mitchells Plain as one of the country’s drug-related crime hot-spots and has instructed senior police officers to intensify investigations into drug lords.
“The illegal drug trade is big, nasty and violent. Drug lords are evil people who simply do not care that they are destroying the lives of South African youngsters,” Mthethwa said yesterday.
He had instructed senior officers to step up probes into drug lords around the country as part of the National Drugs Master Plan, the blueprint on substance abuse approved by the cabinet last year.
Tik was “a serious problem” in the Western Cape, where “gangsterism and drugs are deeply linked”.
“Frequently, the challenges the police face are related to drugs and the violence that goes with the illegal drug trade,” Mthethwa said.
He cited Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, Chatsworth and Phoenix in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Eldorado Park and Lenasia in Gauteng, and Mitchells Plain as areas “where police face serious problems in dealing with drug crimes”.
In one of the latest incidents in Mitchells Plain, a 19-year-old was shot dead in Rocklands at the weekend. Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said unidentified gunmen had shot the man several times in Vink Street.
“The motive for this incident is unknown and the circumstances are under investigation,” he said.
No arrests had been made.
Yesterday, Lynn Philips, secretary of the Mitchells Plain Community Police Forum, said two people had also been wounded in Tafelsig on Sunday.
She said, however, that Mitchells Plain was calmer than it had been in the previous week.
“Last Saturday, we had more police coming in from Pretoria,” Philips said.
“I can safely say there’s been an improvement in the area since last Saturday.”
These additional officers would be stationed in the area for three or six months.
Mthethwa said while “good community policing” involved getting drug users off the streets, he had instructed police to focus on charging “major drug figures”.
This would involve targeting individuals, deploying enough resources and seizing drugs.
This was under way.
Mthethwa said Operation Combat, the Western Cape police’s team focusing on gang-related crimes, had three major successes in as many months – including the handing down of life sentences to 28s and Fancy Boys gang members.
Last month, 28s gang leader Saliem John, convicted of murder and other crimes, was sentenced by the Western Cape High Court to serve a life term.