The latest attempts by the Tshwane metro police to clean up the notorious Brown Street in the city centre have allegedly failed yet again as thugs are still ruling the streets.
With the assistance of the Church Street City Improvement District (Cid) security officers, the Tshwane metro closed down the street from Lilian Ngoyi Street, with strictly controlled access on Prinsloo Street. Pedestrians were able to walk through, but only delivery vehicles were allowed to access the road, as metro police wanted to be able to identify drug dealers in the area.
Now, drug addicts once again smoke drugs freely on the street and there are allegedly no members of law enforcement working to fight crime in the area. The metro’s recent attempt to fight crime in Brown Street is just one of many that have failed.
Templeton Ngonyama, the Cid security manager, confirmed that on Tuesday the Cid withdrew its members who were assisting the metro police after realising that they were fighting a losing battle.
When Rekord’s journalist went to monitor the situation in Brown Street, he was attacked by a group of drug addicts and drug dealers who wanted to steal his valuables.
Fortunately, Cid security officers who were close by intervened and he managed to retain his valuable property. Drug addicts have, on numerous occasions, told Rekord that they steal valuable property to sell and buy drugs. Their favourite crimes are smash-and-grab, theft out of a motor vehicle and pick-pocketing.
In 2011, the local taxi industry took the law into their own hands and fought against drug dealing in the street. Police, however, arrived in their numbers to arrest the taxi drivers for various charges, including assault. The taxi industry stated that they had resorted to drastic measures because the police had failed them and the drug-infested street continued to create problems for their passengers.
A taxi driver, Thabo Lebolo, alleged that the drug dealers in Brown Street had close links with certain police officers, but did not report this as he felt the police would not take him seriously. The police urge anyone with information to report it to the station commander.
