The periodical blitz on pre-identified buildings in the Germiston CBD in an effort to bring to book those taking advantage of desperate people without accommodation by illegally taking over buildings and collecting rent is gaining momentum.
The special operations are also aimed at ensuring that no criminal activities take place, undocumented people are rounded up and the living conditions of the occupants, who are normally cramped into tiny spaces, are assessed.
Members of the EMPD Specialised Services Unit, EMPD precinct officers, the SAPS Crime Intelligence Unit and immigration officials from Home Affairs descended on Stirling Court on Knox Street, last Wednesday.
Stirling Court comprises of four blocks with four floors each.
All the converted 90 rooms were thoroughly searched and padlocked rooms were forced open.
Over 100 tenants were morpho-touched to check if they are on the police wanted list or have criminal records.
“On the second floor of one of the blocks, in one of the rooms found locked, police found ammunition shells for a shotgun and a 9mm firearm.
“On the third floor of one of the blocks, five ziplock bags of dagga were uncovered in a built-in cupboard.
“Three undocumented individuals from Malawi, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo aged 23, 24 and 38, were arrested,” said Chief Supt Wilfred Kgasago, spokesperson for the EMPD.
Kgasago added that tenants interviewed claimed to be from KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Nigeria, the DRC and Malawi.
They further revealed that they were made to pay a once off fee of R350 by a group of people claiming to be the “committee” that takes care of homeless people.
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Although the dwellers live in squalid, cramped conditions and without electricity, there is clean running water in the building.
The arrested undocumented people were detained at the Primrose Police Station and the recovered dagga booked in at the same police station.
“The police are working diligently on the information gathered to trace the group of people who are responsible for taking over the buildings and syphoning money from poor and desperate people,” Kgasago said.
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