The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that about 1 577 known drug houses have been identified in the Western Cape
In a recent reply in parliament, it was revealed that by
mid-2021 there are 741 known drug houses in the rural areas
‘’This is a stark contrast to the 53% of such premises
identified in the Metro which is understood to be a lucrative environment for
drug-related crimes due to population density,’’ said DA’s Community Safety
spokesperson, Reagan Allen.
A Known Drug House refers to a premises that is allegedly
used to distribute drugs and is known in a community at large and to the local
SAPS.
According to Allen, the latest crime statics showed that an
increase in efforts led to a 137% rise in crime detected as a result of police
action.
”This is especially notable when it comes to the
confiscation of illegal firearms or the detection of drug-related crimes.
However, clamping down on these illegalities is highly dependent on ongoing
intelligence-driven operations from the police service, as even just one drug
house is one too many.’’
Allen said that he will write to the Provincial Police
Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile, to enquire about
what measures the SAPS is undertaking to prevent and clamp down on the
sprawling of known drug houses to rural areas in particular.
The Western Cape’s Community Safety MEC, Albert Fritz, submitted
the
Western Cape’s Policing Needs and Priorities Report for 2020/21 to Police Minister,
Bheki Cele, last week.
‘’This accurately identifies that drug trade, abuse and
related crimes have been consistent since 2013/4 here in the province,’’ said
Allen.
Done By: Mitchum George
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