NIGERIAN immigrants were caught squatting in the green belt behind the Meerensee taxi rank on Friday night, when civilian patrols swooped down on their filthy, make-shift campsite.
The Community Policing Forum and Northern Region Protection Services caught the men at their illegal hide-out with a small amount of cannabis.
According to information, they are peddling drugs in the vicinity of the Meerensee Post Office and in the parks behind the shopping complex.
Residents of neighbouring flats often report drug dealers selling cannabis to teenagers in the area.
The civilian patrols are aimed at fighting serious crime by rounding up squatters, drug dealers, trespassers and petty criminals according to the ‘broken window’ theory.
This states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments to prevent small crimes such as vandalism and public drinking, helps to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness, thereby preventing more serious crimes.
Another concern is the open prostitution along Bayvue Boulevard, where women are picked up in broad daylight.
Prostitution is illegal in South Africa and falls within the ambit of the Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Person’s Act.
