Cape Town - The owners of a Lansdowne property on which 9 000 litres of ammonia are being kept have told the city the drums were on the property when they bought it and they don’t know where they come from.
The property, on Quick Road, off Lansdowne Road, is now owned by a company, which one of the co-owners says intends to convert it into a vehicle testing ground.
He asked that his name be withheld and declined to give the company’s name.
The mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said on Wednesday that the owners had the paperwork to prove the chemicals were on the property at the time of its purchase.
Richard Bosman, the executive director for safety and security for the city, said: “The city has been informed that the owner of the substance has sold it on and that the containers were scheduled to be removed (Wednesday).”
On Tuesday, they were given seven days’ notice to give reasons why the property should not be declared a problem building.
The co-owner refused to comment.
The 36 drums, each containing 250 litres of ammonia, were discovered on Tuesday after a resident’s tip-off about suspicious activity.
The resident, speaking on condition his name was withheld, said he would petition for the new owners not to be granted permission to convert the property for business use.
He alleges he saw trucks offloading the drums at the house three months ago.
Deputy provincial commissioner Sharon Japhta said ammonia was a legal chemical. It was also one of many used to make tik.
Cape Times