City raid targets 'deadly' syndicate hijacking buildings

Several people linked to a syndicate operating from a hijacked building in the Joburg CBD are believed to have died over the years as they fought over the control of the derelict premises. 

This was revealed during a raid on Tuesday, spearheaded by Johannesburg acting mayor Kenny Kunene, alongside MMC for public safety Mgcini Tshwaku and MMC for infrastructure Jack Sekwaila.

The operation, which targeted illegal electricity connections and undocumented migrants in the CBD, descended on a building in Marshalltown.

Sekwaila said the city was aware that syndicates are profiting significantly from illegal occupations.

“We have established here that every individual ... is paying about R500 to R800 monthly to stay here. Whoever collects the rent charges per head. The guy here can make about, give or take, R120,000 a month. And they are able to kill each other because for them it’s their bread and butter,” he said.

He confirmed the cables used to power the building illegally were from City Power. 

“Yes, it’s our own cable, and we will be investigating how it got here,” Sekwaila said, noting that the cables had been buried under asphalt and connected from across the road.

City Power cut off all illegal electricity connections during the raid.

Kunene said: “We took out the electricity infrastructure, so it’s going to be dark here. Cutting electricity and cutting water that is connected illegally is going to assist the city. Because now we cannot account for this electricity that has been stolen. We don’t see money coming in for that electricity.”

He said at least four police vans had been filled with undocumented migrants found at the property.

Officials found counterfeit immigration stamps across multiple foreign passports, indicating a fraud operation possibly run from within the building.

“The same stamp is on a passport from Tanzania, from Zimbabwe. So it’s clear that there’s somebody who has got a fraudulent stamp that they use on the passport of these illegal immigrants,” Kunene said.

During the operation, a makeshift crèche was also discovered with about 10 children sitting in a small room.

One child was treated by emergency medical services for a swollen face due to an untreated infection.

The woman watching over them, a 24-year-old from Limpopo, denied operating a formal facility, saying parents pay her when they can afford to.

“These kids only ran into this room because they were scared when they saw the many police people. I don’t run a crèche. Some of these kids live upstairs, and others live in the next-door building. I only look after the kids whose parents pay me, maybe about R20 or R50 when they have the money to pay me,” she said.

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