Drug den destroyed in the east

A “hazardous” crime nest in Brooklyn went up in flames last Wednesday.

A resident in the area, who asked not to be named, said the house was occupied by foreign nationals illegally in the country and dealing in illegal substances.

The resident said there were two houses in Brooklyn Road next to one another and one of them burnt down.

He said the cause of the fire was still unknown, but the house has a history of housing undocumented foreign nationals.

Also read: Locals warned about drugs

“It’s been in a derelict state for five to six years now and is a harbour for criminals.

“We reported the house to DA ward 82 councillor Siobhan Muller who told us she had reported the matter to city council.”

Between 20 and 30 foreigners were living in the house.

The resident said he had questioned one of the occupants who confirmed several things: there were drug dealers dealing from the house; the occupants paid rent of between R1 800 and R2 000 per month; structure plans of the house were not approved.

He claimed two to four people lived in a room.

Since one of the houses burnt down on Wednesday, most were forced to share in the other house increasing the number of occupants.

Also read: Three people arrested for drug possession

He said the matter was reported to police who were in the process of organising a raid.

Food and blankets were organised on Wednesday for the occupants after the house burnt down.

Muller confirmed the properties were “drug dens”.

Adding that over 30 people occupied the house, she said this was unacceptable.

The house had unlawful wooden restructuring inside which may have aided in the fire.

Muller said she confronted the owner of the property on Thursday who claimed he was not aware of the occupants in his house.

“How can this be true when you have more than 20 people in the street, all from one house?” she asked.

“This house is a health and safety hazard.”

Also read: Drug abuse is today’s youth’s struggle

She confirmed children and women were moved to a place of shelter in Mamelodi with the help of police and residents.

All relevant parties have been notified and the matter was being attended to.

Brooklyn police spokesperson Captain Colette Weilbach said several people had been arrested in the house for drug dealing.

She said the operation had been conducted in the house in search of drugs recently.

Weilbach said police could only patrol and respond if a crime was reported from the area.

Commenting on the foreign nationals she said: “Certain bylaws prohibit us from acting unlawfully in regard to foreign­ nationals.”

Emer-G-Med spokesperson Max Cohen said paramedics responded to a house fire in Brooklyn around 17:00.

On arrival, they found the house was on fire, with the flames spreading quickly.

The metro’s fire department was also on the scene, fighting the blaze.

Cohen said no injuries were reported.

“Thankfully all occupants of the house managed to escape unharmed.”

The owner of the house could not be reached for comment.

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