Below the collapsed ceiling at the Saligna hub lies a mound of debris, human excrement, drug paraphernalia and stripped cables.
What once was an important Post Office delivery service mini-hub for residents of Arboretum Extension in Richards Bay is now a filthy haven for vagrants and drug sellers, reports Zululand Observer.
A raid on the decrepit building on Thursday night caught drug dealers in the act of cutting up blocks of whoonga into smaller portions, presumably for sale in the nearby Richards Bay CBD.
It also revealed the pitiful state of the abandoned government building – long since out of operation, but simply left to decay and to house unwanted criminals who regularly rob passing domestic workers and pupils of cell phones and purses.
A packet of drugs ready to be cut into portions for CBD distribution
The raid was conducted by the guarding and tactical unit of private security company WLW Secure.
“Before we even went inside we were choking from the human excrement, broken bottles and general waste on the outside, a major health hazard,” said WLW’s Waldo van Jaarsveld.
“The inside of the building was in an even worse state, but despite this, we found five men inside among the filthiness.
A kit bag full of cables, waiting to be stripped
“Blades they use to cut the drugs were lying everywhere and there were heaps of stripped copper cables among the excrement and used condoms. Rain water was washing all this into the surrounding area where children play and pedestrians walk.
“The place poses a massive health and safety issue.”
Van Jaarsveld said the men were removed from the premises and that further raids were planned until the building is properly condemned and demolished.
These homeless youths were discovered at the Bottlebrush Bend post office in Veldenvlei on Saturday night
Meanwhile, a further visit to the Bottlebrush Bend post office box hub in Veldenvlei on Saturday night showed that post box hub to be a mirror image of the Arboretum situation.
Again, sleeping amid the filth and debris were five homeless people, surrounded by evidence of crimes including cable theft and drug usage.
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