Mogale City Local Municipality, together with several law enforcement stakeholder partners, came out in full force and pounced hard on criminals during an ongoing high-density crime operation in the Krugersdorp policing precinct.
They raided homes in the neighbourhood surrounding the infamous Sivewright Street area and along Luipaard Street during a planned crime prevention operation. The operation also visiting the notorious Majestic Hotel in Commissioner Street.
When police accompanied the city’s officials, Mogale City Public Safety and the Gauteng Emergency Services into a dilapidated and hijacked building known only as the Fronatoni Building by locals residents, some of the suspected criminals were seen fleeing the area.
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Upon searching the building, the officials found quantities of nyaope and Crystal Meth, among other drugs. Six foreign nationals without proper documents were arrested. At the Majestic Hotel, also known as the House of Hell, rooms were searched and five suspects were arrested.
Eric Ngwana, the Service Delivery Monitoring Assistance Manager within the Strategic Management Services said, “This is part of a long-standing partnership between the municipality and the police, together with other law-enforcement stakeholders in the fight against crime.
“The city has now turned into a crime haven and we cannot just be passengers and pretend that it’s business as usual. We want to rid our city of drugs, building hijackings and the high level of crime. This would also enable us to convert these buildings into proper business areas and create jobs for our people,” he added.
Despite complaints and objections from some members of the community, there were positive responses from others, who applauded the police during the operation and suggested that the operation should be the order of the day.
Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Mongale, the Visible Policing leader of the operation, said the operation did not only target foreign nationals, it is also an ongoing operation that deals with “building hijacks, drugs peddlers, prostitution, confiscation of illegal or counterfeit goods, and selling of expired food stuffs, among others”.
“This is part of an ongoing high-density crime operation in the Krugersdorp policing precinct. This operation follows the recent shutdown, when members of the community took the law into their own hands and started burning businesses, properties and homes allegedly owned by foreign nationals,” he said.
An elderly woman, who spoke to our journalist on condition of anonymity, said the area, better known as Lagos, is a living hell. She said the community supports the operation; however, there are some residents who collude with the police.
“Members of the community have been calling for police intervention for many years now,” she said.
“We have youths losing their lives to drugs and gangsterism. In fact, community members actually pointed the drug dens out. The community has been extremely supportive of the operation. This place is a living hell and the police are friends to these people,” she added.
Ngwana said the operation will be extended to include townships and rural areas. He said festive season roadblocks will also form part of the operation. He also indicated that the City’s legal section and Town Planning units will look into the ownership of the identified hijacked buildings.
He said if the owners of the buildings are not forthcoming when requested to do so, the municipality, through the legal and Town Planning sections, will seize the buildings.
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