More than 150 undocumented migrants were taken into custody during an early Monday morning KwaZulu-Natal police raid in a notorious location known for hosting drug and prostitution rings.
The majority of the undocumented migrants had been residing in buildings on Point Road that had been taken over.
Due to its proximity to the beach, this area is primarily visited by tourists. The police also found guns, drugs, and other illegal items during the search.
The primary goal of the raid was to deal with overrun, hijacked buildings, many of which were being used as crime dens.
Hijacked buildings
Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a spokesman for the police in KwaZulu-Natal, said that the raid was a part of a targeted strategy to counter illegal building occupation and easy access to firearms into the city centre.
“It’s an integrated operation targeting hijacked buildings, proliferation of firearms, and illegal immigrants,” said Netshiunda.
“We are searching for firearms because we have realised that there are a lot of guns in the wrong hands.”
He also mentioned that a suspect wanted for a number of rape cases in Umlazi was nabbed during the sting operation.
“As police entered one of the buildings, someone threw out a bag full of fake dollars. A man linked to a series of rape cases in Umlazi township was also caught,” he said.
Fighting fire with fire
Netshiunda also took the opportunity to issue a warning against suspects who might try to shoot police after they were apprehended, saying police would not die while carrying firearms.
“They must be warned that police will always fire back whenever they are being shot at,” he said.
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Thamsanqa Ntuli and provincial police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, along with Cyril Xaba, the mayor of eThekwini Metro, were also present at the police raid.
