THE Arbovlei Community Policing Sub Forum and the Ward 2 committee are to petition SAP hierarchy to bring back the dedicated SANAB (SA Narcotics Bureau) units as the drug problem in the City of uMhlathuze has reached unmanageable proportions.
The issue arose at the Arbovlei (Arboretum and Veldenvlei) CPF meeting held at the Richards Bay Civic Centre on Thursday evening.
The meeting was addressed by SAP Communications officer Capt Debbie Ferreira and Hawks operative W/O Ryno Louw.
The pair displayed and described the various types of drugs easily available on the streets, how they are packaged and their approximate value.
The physical and emotional effects of the drugs and the route to addiction taken by users – almost always starting with dagga – were explained.
The public was informed that drug testing kits are available from chemists for only R7 should parents suspect their children are on drugs.
Causes identified for the rapid growth in drug usage included the number of foreign opportunists who saw South Africa as ‘a safe place to do crime’, weak immigrations laws, easy cultivation of dagga in rural areas, and the difficulty in gaining convictions in court.
‘Once again, it is one of those crimes that cannot be committed without the public aiding the criminals, but we are more concerned with catching the dealer than the addict,’ said Louw.
January crime trends were shared for the suburbs falling within the Arbovlei CPF area.
