Community and police ensure that local drug outlets are rendered useless.
The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa today commended the police and the community of Chatsworth, in KwaZulu-Natal following an arrest of the drug dealers over the Easter weekend.
This past Sunday, the Durban Organised Crime unit acted on intelligence tips and arrested three drug dealers at unit two, Chatsworth. One of them is a known drug lord, Mr Omanathan Subramoney, also popularly known as "Spoons" The other two; Mr Brendon Pillay and Mr Leon Chetty are his accomplices, often referred to as drug pushers.
Police recovered 170 pieces of heroin which were stashed inside a dustbin, with a street value of over R7 000. They also recovered R50 000 worth of jewellery inside the house. The suspects appeared at the Chatsworth court yesterday. Police had opposed bail however the three were each granted a R1 000 bail and will appear in court again on 17 April.
The arrest came exactly 14 days after the minister addressed the locals during a community participation engagement. At the meeting, he appealed for a more concerted effort between police, community and business in strengthening of the fight against drugs.
"We are pleased to learn about this arrest, which by the way did not come as a result of only our intelligence intervention but importantly through the community participation. The Chatsworth community, instead of resting on their laurels and accusing government, took a stance in joining us to fight this scourge.
"We are serious as police when we say we shall crumble these drug empires. Our mission of ensuring that our communities and streets are rid of drug mafias is gaining new ground and we shall never rest until we clean them out."
Minister Mthethwa emphasised that communities such the Mitchell's Plain, in the Western Cape and Chatsworth where drug problems had manifested themselves, it has been proven over the past months that only through concrete partnerships between police and community, that the scourge can be eradicated.
He highlighted that an even more worrying effect of drugs in society is when the drug lords target schools, particularly primary schools.
"These scoundrels who sell drugs to communities, particularly children, are not interested in the society's well being but driven by their selfish desires and enrichment. The effects of drug abuse are therefore not restricted to the drug abuser but often spill over to family, friends and society hence a need for multi-pronged approach."
Going forward, the minister pointed out that police will intensify a coordinated national drug campaign to fight substance abuse.
"We are going for the drug lords as our prime target and we will be utilising all resources at our disposal to crush these drug empires. Police are now firm in their approach and gaining new ground on criminal activities each day, as witnessed through this Chatsworth bust."
For enquiries, please contact:
Zweli Mnisi
Cell: 082 045 4024
Issued by: Ministry of Police
7 April 2010
