Cocaine hotspot in city
Open fields and abandoned buildings in some neighbourhoods have become the ideal hideaway for unsavoury characters and practices and often harbours drug dealers and child prostitutes. An investigation took Review reporters to several sites in the city to see firsthand what happens in these abandoned buildings...
POLOKWANE – Open fields and abandoned buildings in some neighbourhoods have become the ideal hideaway for unsavoury characters and practices and often harbours drug dealers and child prostitutes.
Review can confirm this dangerous state of affairs after an investigation to some of these open spaces and derelict buildings to establish what the are being used for.
Known as places where snakes and other animals like rats make their home these places only attract the spotlight of police after complaints are made. But, says a known drug dealer in the city, rats and snakes are the least of the worries that residents should have about open spaces and empty buildings.
The man offered to disclose information on the basis that he stays anonymous for his own protection. The investigation took Review reporters to several sites of empty houses in both Ladanna and in the city to see firsthand what happens in these abandoned buildings.
It was clear that these places are used as a nest for drug activities, and even child prostitution where children as young as 14 years offer their services at different times during the day. Some children even stay out of school to make sure that they can meet with customers.
The payment for these children – both boys and girls – was a single fix of the drug of their choice which include khat and cocaine. “The abandoned buildings is often old offices and we can hold meetings and run our businesses there as we please.
There is no one to bother us and there is no interference by anyone,” the source told Review.
He also said that the police do make some visits to the buildings but as they are timelessly informed of this the buildings are cleaned out before the police arrive. After they’ve left it is business as usual.
Polokwane municipal spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene, said the municipality was cleaning out empty and abandoned buildings in the city and where needed would be issuing fines to the owners of the properties to either clean up the properties or to rebuild.
She said that issues like these should be reported to the municipality as the buildings could be hazardous and unsafe for people to be in.
Polokwane police spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, confirmed the police would search buildings if information about illegal activities was provided.
Arrests have been made in the past. “We also take part in regular operations with members of different community police forums (CPFs) in clean up operations. This helps to bring down the crime in some areas when houses are being torn down.”
Westenburg police spokesperson, Mohlaka Masiane, stated that in his policing area there were regular patrols. With abandoned buildings the police find the owners to hear about their future plans for these buildings as leaving them abandoned is creating an issue with law enforcement.
On the possibility of police members tipping off criminals before operations are being done, both spokespersons for the police made an urgent call to residents with this kind of information to contact the crime line numbers to help in getting these criminals caught and prosecuted.
