SEIZED: 170 Mandrax tablets wrapped in foil in ouma’s cupboard SEIZED: 170 Mandrax tablets wrapped in foil in ouma’s cupboard
Cape Town - Another Cape Flats ouma has been arrested after drugs were found hidden in her council-owned flat in Manenberg.
Metro Police officers conducted an early morning raid at the 61-year-old woman’s home in Storms River Way following a tip-off about drugs being sold at the property.
According to a source, the ouma allowed officers to search her home, insisting there was no drugs.
“When the officers searched her bedroom cupboard they found a moerse lot of mandrax hidden tussen haar bloomers [between her underwear]. She claimed that the drugs belonged to her son who was not there during the search but she was arrested as she is the tenant and the lease is on her name,” says the source.
Metro Police spokesperson, Zelda Martin, confirms the arrest and says officers found 170 mandrax tablets neatly wrapped in foil and R694 in cash.
Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, says parents who allow their children to hide drugs or illegal firearms in City rental units could face eviction.
“I have been on several searches where parents claim that the drugs or guns belong to their children. They often say that they have spoken to the children but if they know about illegal activity in a rental unit, they are making themselves complicit in a crime,” he warns.
“They think they are protecting their child but in the long run they are not. In these cases when the drugs are found in the house and not in the possession of a particular person, the legal tenant is arrested.”
Smith says each time an arrest is made at a City rental unit, a report is created by Metro Police and the information is added to a database.
“The database is managed by both Metro Police and the housing department and each time a property is raided and we find something, (tenants) are issued with a warning letter informing them it is a breach of the lease agreement,” he explains.
“In cases where the owners make no plan to rectify the situation and persist, we immediately hand the matter over to our attorneys to proceed with an eviction order.”
Smith says the eviction process can take several months but they have to follow procedure.
“The Prevent of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act actually protects gangsters. It is a slow and painful process to get rid of these people but worth it in the end when good people get a home and there are so many people who need homes.”