UPDATE: Army and Saps raid Jeppestown Hostel
JEPPESTOWN - The hostel at Jeppestown was raided for drugs and stolen goods last night.
UPDATE: 9:30am – A large number of boxes containing soup, cleaning detergents, Handy Andy and perfumes were found in Jeppestown Men’s Hostel.
Sergeant Mdududzi Zondo from Hillbrow police said, “Police have confiscated dagga with a street value of R20 000.”
He said computers were also found. Zondo said it is believed these goods were taken when shops were looted during xenophobic attacks.
Eleven people were arrested during the operation, and dangerous weapons were also confiscated.
With the recent xenophobic attacks the nation has witnessed, a number of foreign nationals had their shops looted.
Click here to read about the xenophobic protests that took place at the hostel last week.
UPDATE: Jeppestown Hostel dwellers awoke to the sound of police battering their doors in the early hours of 22 April.
Police, together with the army, raided the hostel in response to various xenophobic incidents that have taken place outside the hostel on the corner of Hans and Margaret Mcingana streets.
According to National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega, the raids are meant to send a message to the public that the police are still in control of the streets and that more raids are to come.
Police went room to room while the military remained as backup outside the hostel.
INITIAL REPORT: During the night, the police and army carried out a joint operation at the Jeppestown Hostel.
It is believed they raided the hostel for drugs, weapons and stolen goods. Jeppestown had suffered xenophobic attacks since last week, when protesters stoned vehicles and clashed with the police.
It is believed that this is the first of many raids to be carried out in the province in a bid to put an end to xenophobic attacks.
It has been reported that 11 people have been arrested. According to EWN, Kay Makhubela from Saps said dagga and stolen goods were seized.
Click here to read: Army and police still to decide on the deployment of army in Alex
View some tweets about the raid below:
#SANDF join Police in #Jeppestown raid https://t.co/RCy7vDZAg0
— JBay News (@JBayNews1) April 22, 2015
Police and army raided hostels late last night in Jeppestown. #NoToXenophobia
— Rosie Motene- Pan African feminist! 🏳️🌈 (@RosieMotene) April 22, 2015
https://twitter.com/CouxFuehrer/status/590742291188469760
Police raid hostels in #Jeppestown, our reporter @YusufOmarSA was there >> https://t.co/UPB4geGAgS pic.twitter.com/XvnHF5ZM5I
— eNCA (@eNCA) April 22, 2015
The deployment of #SANDF to JeppesTown, Alexandra, Hillbrow,Melville,Yeoman, Sunnyside is long overdue. We want order n peace in SA
— PootieT (@_Pootie) April 22, 2015