By Nikita Chiniah
The Merebank Community Policing Forum in partnership with PT Tactical Unit and residents banded together to cut overgrown grass and clean an abandoned house which they believe is a haven for criminals.
Community activist, Yusuf Vawda said that crime has been increasing in Merebank. “We have seen drug addicts and criminals occupy this particular house which has been recently cleaned with the assistance from the community. There were overgrown verges covering the entire home making visibility extremely unclear. The clean-up operation is for the property to become visible.CPF and community members conducted patrols and went in a convoy to make sure that criminals are not loitering the streets at night. There were numerous complaints of copper pipes being stolen and houses broken into. In one of the incidents, suspects gained entry through the roof and ransacked a home. When the homeowners returned, they noticed that their house had been wiped clean. It is time to be proactive to curb these illegal activities,” he said.
The Merebank Community Policing Forum together with PT Tactical Unit and residents held a convoy on Thursday to create awareness following the increase of house break-ins and copper theft in Merebank.
PT Alarms spokesperson, Dhevan Govindasamy said that the area is being infiltrated by marauding criminals who use the guise of looking for odd jobs to dupe residents as well as those keen on committing opportunistic crime.
He said: “Many of the residents are elderly and these thugs take advantage of them by preying on their kindness. The perpetrators scope the area while ‘working’ and then pounce later on. PT Tactical Unit is working closely with the Merebank CPF sub-forum, community activist Yusuf Vawda and dedicated residents and patrollers to crack the whip on crime in the area. We are striving to make the streets safe for residents and have beefed up patrols while also engaging in strategic operations to weed out lurking criminals. PT Tactical Unit urges residents to join us in working within the ambit of the law. As fed up as residents are with crime, be wary of posting pictures of suspects on social media and assaulting suspects. This jeopardises the chance of successfully prosecuting and convicting arrested suspects. We need to allow the wheels of justice to turn.”
The Merebank and Chatsworth Tabloid spoke to residents who claimed that the perpetrators hide in abandoned homes while awaiting for a chance to prey on unsuspecting victims.
Residents took the initiative to come together and pay workers to cut overgrown trees and clear the abandoned home. The abandoned home, situated in Sholapur Place was also visited by PT Alarms Tactical Unit officer, Wizlinne Mac Donald and their dog, Hitler where a search was conducted.
A resident of Dinapur Road, Usman Ali said that the community needs to work together to stop all sorts of criminal activities before it is too late.
“Apart from all the serious house break-in incidents in the area, copper theft has become a growing concern and major issue. This problem is a country wide issue and everyone needs to come together to save our communities from criminals,” he said.
