Sixty-seven undocumented immigrants were arrested on Wednesday after the City of Johannesburg conducted a crime prevention operation in three hijacked and bad properties in Hillbrow.
Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba said the arrested people would be detained at the Hillbrow Police Station. Immigration officers from Home Affairs were expected to process them to ascertain relevant information.
“Criminals must know that they might run but there is no place for them to hide in Johannesburg‚” Mashaba said.
He said the City had conducted an audit of some 500 bad buildings‚ about 134 of which had been confirmed as hijacked. 24 of the 500 bad buildings belonged to the City.
“It is essential that we bring back the rule of law in our City and take it back from the criminal elements such as landlords who take advantage of desperate people and house them under deplorable conditions. “We are committed to ensuring that we stop the rot in our inner city and make it a prosperous and inclusive place for our people to live work and play‚” Mashaba said.
