Durban - Sachets thought to contain cocaine have been discovered blocking a sewerage pipe in Greenbury, Phoenix.
For almost a month irate residents of Peargreen Place have been complaining to the municipality about the blocked pipe and the putrid smell.
The stench finally got to residents on Saturday and a few banded together to do their own investigation.
Dan Kanniappen, 61, who had four reference numbers from the municipality regarding the matter, said nothing had been done to trace the blockage or fix things until the fed-up residents stepped in.
“The residents went around checking the manholes and discovered one of them was overflowing.
“This house had been unoccupied for close to a year. The tenants at the back also complained. We hired two people to open the cover,” Kanniappen said.
Residents used buckets to collect the water from the manhole and empty it out so they could unblock the drain.
Kelvin Shunmugam said he noticed a white powder residue at the brim of the drain and in the water.
“We started moving things around to unblock the drain. The packaging found in the pipe suggested that it could have been cocaine powder. Condoms seemed to have been filled with powder.
“The packaging was damaged, spilling its contents,” Shunmugam said.
Police at the scene believed it could have been flushed down the drain further up the pipe. After the clean-up the grass and cement surrounding the manhole were covered in white powder.
Kanniappen said on Monday morning that the water department cleaned up the drain and washed the area. Evidence of the powder could still be seen.
The police forensics unit took samples for analysis.
Daily News
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