Police visit local school to highlight crime, substance abuse
Police were alerted of a new trend in which learners mix a 2-litre bottle of Coca-Cola with 200ml of methylated spirits to get a 'high'.
Pretoria Central police and other law enforcement agencies visited Hoërskool Voortrekkerhoogte to raise awareness about substance abuse on Wednesday.
The school was identified as one of the schools in Pretoria that needs assistance and attention when it comes to substance abuse by learners, according to police spokesperson Thabang Nkhumise.
Nkhumise said the police visited several classes at the school to hold searches to ensure that no substances or harmful objects were on the school premises.
“As a result, numerous items that pose a threat to the health and safety of the learners were seized.
“We managed to confiscate substances such as marijuana, cigarettes and methylated spirits that were hidden on the school premises,” Nkhumise said.
He added that learners mixed Coca-Cola with methylated spirits to experience a “high”.
“Another trend is that learners would smoke marijuana and also consume a mixture of Sprite and cough syrup that contains an ingredient called codeine phosphate.
“This poses a threat as there are more risks to the safety of educators and other learners because it leads to criminal activities,” he said.
Nkhumise said police would continue to implement interventions such as school talks, campaigns and outreach programmes to fight against substance abuse.
He added that the school visit was a collaboration between the communication office, social crime prevention, sector commanders along with the TMPD, CPF, patrollers and some reservists, who joined forces to monitor and evaluate the problems encountered by educators.
Police urged parents and community members to come on board to assist the schools with identifying perpetrators who persuade learners to buy and consume drugs.
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