GANGS IN ALL-OUT DRUG WAR

Bloody Battles Could 'Wipe Out A Generation' Of Durban Men

A bloody drug turf war in Chatsworth, south of Durban, has resulted
in 17 drive-by shootings and eight drug-related killings in less than
a year, creating a climate of fear in the community.

The market has boomed since the introduction of the highly addictive
"Sugars" drug about three years ago.

Mandrax and crack-cocaine dealers, who built empires, have been
squeezed in recent years as Sugars has become Chatsworth's drug of
choice, sparking rivalry between dealers for the new market.

In the most recent drive-by shooting this week, a man alleged to be
one of the biggest drug lords in Chatsworth was shot and injured in
Moorton, Chatsworth, according to Durban South police.

On Saturday, hundreds of residents are expected to march against drug
dealers in Chatsworth. They will leave Havenside Sports Ground at
10am and will go to the Bayview police station where a memorandum
will be handed to police.

Chairperson of the Chatsworth Anti-drug Forum, Sam Pillay, said this
week's shooting was the 17th in less than a year and eight people had
died. These figures were confirmed by research conducted by The
Independent on Saturday.

Pillay said the word on the street was that there was a turf war and
many of those killed in the shootings had been dealers for years.
Innocent bystanders had also been injured.

Among those killed over the past 12 months was Soobramoney "Gonnie"
Naidoo, 45, of Croftdene, an alleged Mandrax dealer who was killed in
a drive-by shooting opposite the Croftdene Shopping Centre in
December 2006. His passenger, Stanley Govender, 44, of Moorton, also died.

A third passenger survived. Naidoo had escaped death in an attempted
drive-by shooting three weeks before his death.

A few days after Naidoo was shot, Inspector Trevor Vardarajulu, from
the Chatsworth Crime Prevention Visible Policing unit, who was
suspected of having links with Naidoo, was shot dead at a friend's home.

In March, Pragasan Moodley, a legal firearms dealer, was killed and
his passenger, Bradley David, was injured in a shooting in Bayview.

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A few days later, a tow-truck owner was killed and a bystander
injured in another Chatsworth drive-by shooting. The victim had
allegedly had an altercation with a nightclub owner a week before.

In September, club owner and alleged drug dealer Munsamy "Smithy"
Gounden and an associate, Nick Pillay, were killed in a drive-by
shooting on the corner of Palm Road and Dunveria Crescent. Gounden
had owned Smithy's Nightclub in Chatsworth.

A local Chatsworth drug activist and retired policeman, whose
identity has been withheld for his own safety, said police were not
equipped to deal with drugs.

"They have lost control and are afraid of drug lords. They don't try
to get witnesses because they are scared somebody will be after them.

"All these guys (drug dealers) want to eliminate each other because
nobody wants to share the drug business."

Pastor Logan Nadasan, who runs the Mission For Christ Care and
Rehabilitation Centre, said there was a concern that a generation of
Indian males could be wiped out.

He said some residents of Chatsworth were thinking of using shock
tactics as in Cape Town where the people burnt the homes of drug dealers.

Durban South police spokesperson Danelia Veldhuizen said it was not
always easy to catch the big drug lords because they did not do the
"dirty work".

* An intelligence tip-off from Sao Paulo, Brazil, led police to
discover 112kg of cocaine worth R50-million at OR Tambo International
Airport. Police were cagey about details but it is understood police
in Brazil had warned them to be on the look-out for suspicious boxes
on an SAA flight on Thursday.