JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Policing authorities made their presence known on the corner of Vorster Avenue and Louise Street in Glenanda, on Thursday, September 10, during a JMPD initiative labeled ‘Operation Clean-Up’.
JMPD, in partnership with Mondeor SAPS, Home Affairs (immigration), Sector 1 and 2 CPF and local security companies, gathered at Vorster Park to strategise how they were going to rid the area of a group of men seeking employment.
After numerous complaints from residents, accusing the men of obstructing traffic, JMPD Chief Superintendent Connie Maile organised the clean-up campaign.
Maila said: “We’ve received complaints about the job seekers as they create a nuisance in the area and they obstruct motorists in traffic. The aim is to check their documents to see whether they are in the country legally. The main challenge we’re having is that these men are not criminals so we can’t arrest them, we can check documentation and discourage them from sitting at the corner.”
Maila noted that the initiative was also aimed at controlling the influx of men who are said to increase in number every week at the problematic spot.
The strategy used was sending out several unmarked vehicles to collect the men under the pretense that they were being offered employment. As soon as the men were in the vehicle, they were transported to Vorster Park where officers were waiting to search them and verify their citizenship.
Many of the men attempted to make a getaway as soon as they realised the potential employers were actually police officers. A majority of the men were caught and taken to Mondeor SAPS for profiling and further investigation.
JMPD officers will monitor the area to ensure that other undocumented job seekers do not take over from the ones removed during the initial clean-up operation.
