Gatvol Athlone residents have declared war on dikvel drug merchants they say are enslaving their children and destroying their community by tearing down three drug dens over the weekend.
More than 200 Bridgetown residents started a riot on Friday as they hurled stones at the properties and moered a man accused of selling female drug addicts as young as 16-years-old for sex.
The community say after two months of peaceful marches on the three properties in Loerie, Fink and Kalkoen roads, they have had enough of begging drug dealers to stop merting and decided to take action by breaking down the houses.
STONED: Mense destroyed fence of mert's house
A 55-year-old resident, who asked not to be named, says tempers flared when residents heard that an alleged drug dealer known as “Beetle” had allegedly sold teen girls for just R30 to older men wanting sex.
She says a resident had found his 20-year-old sister inside Beetle’s property in Fink Road last week, having sex with two men for drug money.
“We have been marching on them for two months, now begging and pleading with them to stop, but they don’t listen.
“The residents were very kwaad when they heard
Beetle was selling the teen girls for R30 for men to have sex with so the girls can buy one pakkie tik.
“He even had kamertjies at the back that the men can hire for R10 and so on
Friday we marched to him and moered him.
All the women gave him a vrouepak until he lay flou inside his house.
“His daughter came out and told us they would stop selling, but we’ve had enough and we don’t believe he will stop. We took off our sloffies and moered him.”
Residents then marched on a house in Kalkoen Road run by an alleged mert known as “Bless”.
“He came out and denied selling drugs, but we didn’t care about his lies. We warned them to stop but they don’t want to listen,” adds the resident.
At the third property in Loerie Road, residents hurled stones, broke
burglar bars and even smashed CCTV cameras, demanding that merts leave their community.
PROTEST: Athlone residents are gatvol of drug dealers
“That house is run by
Risden, the army was there last week and moered them but they just go on. The police later came to that house as we were leaving.”
Police spokesperson,
Colonel Andrè Traut, says Athlone police have no
record of the incident.
The clean-up follows
community action in Silvertown two weeks ago when residents evicted a drug mert from Anthony Road who had allegedly beat up a young man and left him for dead.
ACTION: 200 Bridgetown residents march on merts. Picture supplied
Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson, Aziza Kannemeyer, says people are fed up with the judicial system.
“The judicial system is not effective, nor does it deter offenders,” she says.
“People witness the destruction of their families and communities because of drug addictions.
“We have drug dealers everywhere and they are becoming younger.
“SAPS, the Department of Justice and the National Prosecuting Authority are outdated with their laws, methods, policies and procedures. Things have to change.”
PROTEST: Athlone residents are gatvol of drug dealers
Meanwhile, Bridgetown residents say while one of the three merts has already started to fix the damage caused to his home, they will not stop.
“We see he is already fixing but we will say this: ons gaan dik hou tot hulle ophou.
“We are working with various community organisations to make Bridgetown better and drug merchants won’t stop us. ”