Primary school bans vendors

20/04/2015. Fleur Primary School principal Philip Bekker said they have had to prevent vendors from trading outside the school's premises to avoid exposing children to illegal substances

20/04/2015. Fleur Primary School principal Philip Bekker said they have had to prevent vendors from trading outside the school's premises to avoid exposing children to illegal substances

Published Apr 22, 2015

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Pretoria - The principal of Fleur Primary School in Lyttelton Manor has acted to have street vendors removed from outside the school as a precautionary measure to protect pupils from being exposed to drugs.

Philip Bekker, who has been at the helm of the primary school for 15 years, said: “That is our main concern, that the kids are safe.

“We are not sure what drugs are on the streets. They could be using sherbet or something else and lacing it with drugs.

“That’s what we are avoiding.”

Bekker said the metro police were called in last week to check if any of the vendors had permits to trade outside the school, but they failed to produce the required documents.

This comes after the Anti-Drug Alliance warned of a drug called “strawberry quick” which is apparently aimed at primary school children.

The alliance’s chief executive, Quintin van Kerken, said the drug is believed to be packaged in straws which come in different flavours, making them hard to track down.

He said they had been inundated with calls from concerned parents who had experienced changes in their children’s behaviour.

“At the moment, what we know is that the drug is being distributed to a number of primary schools not limited to Centurion, but extending as far as Hatfield.

“But we are still working to establish which schools have been targeted,” Van Kerken said.

According to Van Kerken, symptoms of the drug include heart palpatations, abnormal hyperactivity, dilated pupils, rapid mood swings and paranoia, among others.

He advised parents to be on the lookout for the symptoms in their children after purchasing any items from street vendors. He urged parents to call Anti-Drug Alliance SA for further information on 081 577 7715.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer Hero Gumbu said they had been on high alert since hearing about the drug, but have not made any arrests related to it.

“We had raids at Tshwane South College and Lyttelton Manor High School about a month ago, two of some of the problematic schools in our area, but we didn’t find anything there.

“But we are on the lookout,” he said.

Pretoria News

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