Western Cape awash with cheap tik, creating addicts who drive up crime

04 October 2015 - 02:00 By PHILANI NOMBEMBE

Jerome van Rooyen, born two months into South Africa's democratic era, has fallen captive to the drug scourge gripping the Western Cape, like so many of his peers. The high school dropout and tik addict is one of the people behind the statistics released by police this week. They show drug-related crime is increasing, especially in the Western Cape.Van Rooyen, 21, has seen both sides of the scourge.He spent several days in ICU at Tygerberg Hospital in August after being necklaced by a mob in Khayelitsha. They accused him of stealing a TV set. He said they also forced him to drink toilet cleaner. Deep burn wounds to his abdomen, shoulder, leg and face bear testimony to the attack.He said he was aggrieved that they had meted out mob justice instead of reporting him to the police.His mother reported the attack to the Harare police station. No arrests have been made.story_article_left1He traced his troubles back to 2008 when he and five friends befriended a local shebeen owner."I realised there were two sets of customers who came to the shebeen. We helped those who wanted beer and he took care of the others. We realised he was selling drugs. I was scared but I could not stop working for him because he bought us clothes," said Van Rooyen."Later, we also sold drugs and experimented with tik. We got hooked and I have not been able to stop since."Van Rooyen said he had been arrested twice for possession of drugs. On both occasions he was released and told to attend court at a later date, but never did.Western Cape police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk confirmed the necklacing.He said police were investigating a case of "assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm".Simon Howell of the University of Cape Town's Centre of Criminology said the price of tik had plummeted, which was one of the reasons the Western Cape had reported the highest number of drug-related crimes in South Africa.story_article_right2Police statistics released this week show that nationally, drug-related crime increased 2.4% last year.Over the past 10 years it has increased from 94,792 cases to 266,902. The Western Cape is responsible for 34% of last year's cases.Howell said drug-related arrests had risen 161% over the past 10 years."Because drugs are more affordable and used by more, it leads to more drug-related arrests. Ten years ago tik cost R225 a gram; now it is R217.50 a gram. Had inflation been taken into account it should have cost R426. Heroin costs R119 and cost R215 10 years ago. The price should have risen to R421."Van Rooyen said Khayelitsha was awash with drug dealers who preyed on youngsters. Many of his peers are addicts."I need help; I want to change my lifestyle," said Van Rooyen."I barely wash these days and I am not interested in girls. I used to have a girlfriend but I lost interest. I don't know why."..

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