Police showed their might in the early morning hours of Wednesday when they managed to arrested 89 suspects in Atteridgeville, Laudium, Pretoria Central and Pretoria West in conjunction with the Flying Squad and K9 Unit. According to Captain Pinki Tsinyane, members of the police are determined to win the war against drugs in these communities.
“It is in this regard that this special group concentrated on drug-related issues. A concern from the public is the connection between violent crimes and drugs, as well as alcohol abuse.” Tsinyane also said that the police were making sure that during their crime prevention duties, a certain group concentrated on rooting out drugs in the community.
She pointed out that with drugs eradicated, the community would have a safer environment in which to raise children. Communities are concerned about the prevalence of violent crime in the province, which has at times been attributed to drug users and abusers becoming violent when they are high or desperately craving a fix.
During the crime prevention initiative, while they were patrolling, police also received a tip-off about houses in the community where drugs were being sold. “Those houses were thoroughly searched using sniffer dogs,” she added. Members of the Flying Squad also conducted stop-and-searches in and around Atteridgeville. Tsinyane said that the arrested suspects, aged between 15 and 45, would all appear in the Atteridgeville court soon on charges of possession and dealing with drugs.
