Durban North raid uncovers vagrant tree house

A JOINT operation between the Durban North SAPS, Durban North/Umhlanga CPF, the City’s Land Invasion Unit, local councillor and other stakeholders resulted in the arrest of 12 vagrants this morning. Incredibly, members uncovered a tree house, which a vagrant had built using wooden poles and a piece of tarp to protect him from the rain.

According to Capt Raymond Deokaran, spokesman for the Durban North SAPS, the operation also uncovered a number of shacks in the bushes bordering the M4 and in the green belt in Old Mill Way. One of the vagrants had also built himself his own weight set to exercise using old paint cans and a liquor crate which served as the bench.

Bushes along the M4, near Glenore Centre were also searched, as well as the La Lucia taxi rank.

“The members were shocked to see the tree house which had been built quite high off the ground. He would have to scale the tree to get inside. The idea is to frustrate them so that they stop coming back to the area. Most of them have permanent residence, but leave to beg and live in the bushes. We arrested 12 vagrants who will be processes at the station. We will see if we can link them to any crimes in the area,” said Deokaran.

Mary Knox, the public relations officer for the Durban North/Umhlanga CPF said the operation helped identify problem areas.

“It was a fantastic initiative and was well supported. The land invasion unit was fantastic and we identified a number of areas where the vagrants had occupied. These are vital parts of keeping the area safe and potential criminal elements out of the area,” she said.