Teenagers caught in nightclub raids in Mbombela
Thirteen underage teens were detained by police on Friday night after they were found partying in local nightclubs.
MBOMBELA – Of them, 11 are learners of local high schools. Police discovered the kids at Legends and Jock Pub & Grill.
Bossies Community Justice’s (BCJ) Albert Gryvenstein said the raid took place after they had received a lot of complaints about teenagers frequenting nightclubs in the city.
“I had received some videos and photos of underage kids drinking shooters at a place. The teenagers were drinking tequila. We identified who they were and notified their parents. I also showed the police officers and the K9 unit. We arranged the raid on Jock Pub & Grill and Legends Bar this week with the help of Nelspruit Concerned Citizens.”
He said they had found teenagers ranging from the age of 14 to 17 years old. Five teenagers were found at Legends and eight at Jock Pub & Grill.
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“We found two teenagers waiting in the queue for the bar in the closed smoking area at Jock where the slot machines are. When they saw us coming for them, they attempted to evade us and ran into the crowd outside, but we managed to catch them.”
He said they almost caught teenagers with dagga. “But just before we caught them, they threw the dagga out the toilet window.”
Police spokesman, Lt Col Erhard Stroh said the station commander, Brig Prince Hlupheka Ngobeni was also present during the raid. “He wants the police to regularly check up on establishments in the city.”
He added that both establishments had poor management of entrances and allowed patrons to enter with a photograph of an identity document on their phone, which was unlawful as it could easily be manipulated.
Gryvenstein said the children were taken to Nelspruit Police Station where their parents were called to come and fetch them.
“The majority of the parents did not know their kids were at the clubs. Most were angry at their children but some were angry that the police had taken them.”
He said some of the kids carried fake identities or had pictures of an “identity book” on their phones, with excuses that they had left it at home. “I think parents should be aware of exactly where their children are at night. I do not think they realise the extreme dangers of their kids frequenting no under 18 clubs and bars.
“They can be exposed and exploited into situations they are not emotionally and mentally ready to deal with.”
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Legends Bar’s owners Terrence Chengan and Gerard Moonsammy spoke to Lowvelder.
“We do feel like we have been victimised as the first people on the list to raid was us and Jock. Why were other establishments not raided?”
Moonsammy said they were strict with access control to their club. “We have three bouncers at the door. On the night while there was an argument between two people, the bouncers got distracted and some of the teenagers snuck in.”
He said two teenage girls who were caught in the club were from Hoedspruit and had been accompanied by a friend of their parents. “He told us he brought them to our place as he could not leave them without supervision.”
Chegan and Moonsammy both confirmed that although five teenagers were caught on their premises, none had been drinking alcohol. “When the police raided, they found some playing pool. None had been drinking.”
They added that they welcomed the raid and wanted people to feel that they were visiting a safe environment. “This will also confirm to the public there were no drugs found on our premises.”
Jock Pub & Grill’s Morgan Jenkins said they had four male bouncers and a woman who monitor the entrance. “Most of the time we do not have an underage problem, but we did have an event on Friday night and over 400 people attended.”
He stated that the establishment was also a restaurant and people were allowed to bring their children there.
“There are areas that they are not allowed to enter but sometimes they slip through the cracks. I even caught two teenage girls attempting to jump over our fence to get into one of our events.”
Sanca Lowveld’s Marina Erasmus said parents were not sufficiently educating their children about the dangers of alcohol. “My experience is that parents do not talk to their kids enough about what is expected from them when it comes to drinking alcohol.”
“Most just assume that their children are automatically informed about the legal age of the use of alcohol, which is 18 years old.” She said parents themselves did not know why the use thereof was illegal for those under 18.
She concluded that other factors contributed to many failing to address the topic with their own children. These included not being a role model themselves when it comes to alcohol use, not knowing what responsible drinking is, not setting clear boundaries about the use thereof in the home, and regularly abusing it themselves.
The police said the public could expect more raids at drinking establishments.
