South Africa November 2006 |
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| Immigrants nabbed in predawn raid, (Sabc News, 2006-11-25):-Over 200 immigrants were taken to Pollsmoor prison today after an early morning raid in an informal settlement, off the N1 highway near Woodstock in Cape Town. Police and immigration officials suspect that most of the immigrants are in the country illegally. All the immigrants will be held at Pollsmoor until officials determine which ones are in the country illegally. The informal settlement, which sprung up recently, has been home to hundreds of immigrants, some illegal. So far, they have defied several attempts to have them evicted. "We received lots of complaints, there is no water or ablution facilities there, motorists complaining about bad smell coming from the area and people washing in public," said Dan Plato, a mayoral committee member for City of Cape Town. Officials say some of those arrested this morning got wind of the impending raid and tried to escape. However, the police countered this by quickly cordoning off the area. They were bundled into police vans. Immigrants found to be in the country illegally will be sent to the Lindela detention centre, where they will be repatriated to their countries. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |