The Sunday News
Simba Jemwa, Sunday News Correspondent
A ‘drug haven’ is thriving between Masotsha Avenue and Northend suburb which has been used as an illicit car wash following numerous reports by concerned residents in the area.
Investigations have shown that dealers at the ‘haven’ sell drugs such as cannabis, as well as prescription drugs commonly misused such as codeine, the cough syrup Broncleer, which contains codeine, and pills that are usually prescribed to combat mental illness.
Broncleer
The new haven is also believed to be stocking crystal meth there as well.
Over the last few months, there has been an increase in reports relating to drug dealing in the area. While it has had a thriving car wash for years, Sunday News can reveal that local drug dealers have been using it to deal drugs.
Investigations have shown that the dealers service customers from Northend and nearby flats beginning along Masotsha Avenue.
There have also been suggestions that the dealers service truant school going children who pass through the area on their way from such schools as Mzilikazi, St. Columbus and Sobukhazi High Schools.
The area has been turning into a haven for drug users and a source of anti-social behaviour and had become a source of “utter misery” for neighbours.
Northend residents complained about incidents that include drug dealing and drug use, violence, and suspicion of handling stolen goods and harbouring thieves who then operate during the night.
The anti-social behaviour surrounding the car wash has become so bad that parents living in the area keep their children away from nearby spaces which have previously been used as playgrounds, and locals living in fear of burglaries, assault and damage.
Drug dealing
“Drug dealing can cause a daily nightmare for law abiding residents and we will take action to stamp it out wherever possible,” revealed Melusi Khanye who lives in Northend, a few metres from the drug hotspot.
Lydia Nyathi, another resident who lives in a nearby flat said: “Decent, law-abiding people have an absolute right to live free from the misery and intimidation of drug-dealing and anti-social behaviour.
We urge the police to use every power at our disposal to uphold that right, and stamp out this menace wherever it tries to gain a foothold.”
Northend is one of the oldest suburbs in Bulawayo and is increasingly becoming notorious for drug abuse.
The market is growing fast, and where in the old days it was only youths in the affluent suburbs who could afford Class A drugs, now many young people are turning to the drug in townships.
— @RealSimbaJemwa
