Police gathered for an unannounced drug search at Sandown High School on 21 May.
Social crime prevention head at Johannesburg District Office, Captain Alpheus Matshaba said the reason for the search was as a result of information received from the school principal and governing body who said they were concerned about the possibility of drugs at the school.
“Sandton falls under our jurisdiction so we mobilised the different role players and came to the school with four dogs and various social crime coordinators to conduct a search,” said Matshaba.
He added that police searched all the learners and classrooms that they were informed were problematic but found no illegal substances or weapons.
“This will be an ongoing matter and we will do more unannounced searches in future,” said Matshaba, adding that the message had
gone through to the learners that this issue would be taken seriously.
Spokesperson for the Sandton Police Station, Captain Bheki Xulu said the Department of Education, social crime prevention, Metro police, Johannesburg Central, Sandton, Alexandra and Midrand police, Johannesburg Canine Unit and other stakeholders assisted in the search.
Xulu added that the social crime prevention team was also conducting a number of programmes at local schools to inform learners about the danger of drugs.
Xulu said in this particular area, drugs including dagga and cocaine were often found.
“The [number] of learners using drugs is a very small percentage of schools, who are putting the majority at risk. Learners must come to school in order to learn. Addicts must be removed from the school premises because they can be harmful to others,” said Xulu.
He encouraged any learners who were struggling with a drug addiction to visit the Sandton police who could offer them assistance and referrals to get help.
Details: Sandton Police Station 011 722 4200.
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