Verulam schools are witnessing a disturbing rise in drug turf wars, with high school girls peddling mandrax and cannabis to pupils, according to Prem Balram, head of Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa).
He said they received an average of four calls a week for drug-related incidents at high schools in Verulam, which is a significant increase from previous years.
Drug-Related Incidents on the Rise
Girls from grades 8 to 12 are dealing in drugs, with some of them selling their bodies to drug dealers for money and drugs, said Balram.
According to Balram, in the past few days, the parents of three schoolgirls met him and claimed that their daughters were involved in drugs.
Intimidation and Assaults
Some of the under-aged girls were selling their bodies to drug dealers for money and drugs, while others were being fetched and dropped off at schools by drug dealers.
When we interviewed the girls, it was established that they were addicts and peddling the drugs at various schools in Verulam, said Balram.
We conduct regular joint operations with police at schools, and have found weapons and drugs on the pupils, said Balram.
For more information on the effects of drug abuse, visit the Wikipedia page on drug abuse.
According to a source who worked closely with the police, investigations had revealed the schoolgirls had close links with the drug dealers in Verulam and surrounding areas.
- Drug dealers are using children from their families, especially young girls, to peddle drugs.
- They train these girls to exert pressure on other children to take drugs or peddle for money.
- They are now breeding a whole generation of drug dealers.
