Popular Pomona club closed after police raid

A well known Pomona club , The Lodge, was closed down by police on Friday night after drugs and prostitutes were found on the premises.

In a joint operation between Kempton Park SAPS, the metro police and Kempton Park Community Police Forum (CPF) it was discovered drugs were sold behind the counter.

Raids were also carried out at Rock Paradise in Pomona and Perry’s Pub and Grill on Monument Road and both operations were fined.

Amanda Green, chairman of Kempton Park CPF said the operation started on Friday afternoon and ended in the early hours the next day.

Kempton Park SAPS station commander, Brig Johannes Marx, said the worst establishment visited was The Lodge in Pomona, where drugs and prostitutes were found.

“We closed down this particular pub after we found that drugs were being sold behind the counter. There were also prostitutes on the premises, most of whom were foreign women from Nigeria and Asia. One was arrested for not having a permit.

“A Nigerian in charge of the place was also arrested as he did not have a permit to be in the country. All their alcohol and drugs were confiscated by the police,” Marx said.

Perry’s Pub and Grill in Glen Marais was also raided on the same night, but according to the owner, Norma Stone, they re-opened the following day and continued to operate, even though police had confirmed that they were closed down.

“Police did raid our pub on Friday night but we were only given a R4 500 fine for not having our liquor licence on display at a few areas of the restaurant, that’s all. But we were unhappy with the way police treated our customers and we will take this up soon,” Stone expressed.

Marx said Perry’s had been closed down and given a fine, as well as 14 days to comply with the liquor act and police would follow up on this.

According to Green, they have had many complaints about Perry’s, from selling alcohol to underage children, people drinking outside the pub and drunk people being sold alcohol, which was against the law.

“The pub is in a residential area which means lots of noise for people living close by. There have also been many accidents along Monument Road due to drunken driving,” Green said.

Stone said all these allegations were not true and they would issue a statement soon.

The last pub raided was Rock Paradise, which, according to Marx, did not have as many major issues.

“Rock Paradise only had minor issues in connection with its licence so they were given a small fine,” Marx said.

Marx said these raids were conducted after the police had received many complaints from the community about noise levels, information about drugs and prostitution.

According to Green, this was the first of many raids that will still be conducted.

“In the beginning of each year, we draw up a list of areas of concern that need to be addressed, one of them being drinking spots either operating illegally or having illegal things going on. These tasks are not easy and we would like to ask the public to be patient with us as we will conduct more of these routine check-ups.

“We are determined to make our city safer to live in. Thank you to the Kempton Park CPF team which was involved in the operation on Friday. Your efforts are truly appreciated.”