Drug drop

SANITATION WORKERS are afraid to collect garbage from certain areas because of threats by drug dealers.It appears that drugs are being concealed among garbage in bags and bins in areas believed to be “drug holes”, and sanitation workers have unknowingly disposed of the contraband with the garbage.This apparently occurred on two separate occasions and resulted in the workers being threatened.“We were threatened by a group of men and accused of stealing their drugs and on another occasion men threw stones at us when we went to collect garbage and told us not to touch it; that their thing in there,” said an employee.The worker said both areas were in St Michael and were hot spots for drug-peddling, but there were other areas in Christ Church and St James where they were warned by men on the block against touching the garbage.“We have not stopped going into the areas but when the men tell us to leave we leave without touching the garbage. The workers are afraid for their lives when they go into these areas,” the SSA employee stated.When asked about this situation, SSA’s general manager Stanton Alleyne stated: “There are some areas where we have to be very cautious when we go to pick up garbage. “We are looking at educating our staff and we will be meeting with the police to come up with a protocol to deal with these issues, but I would prefer not to say anything more at this time.”There were also instances where workers had been assaulted by members of the public for carrying out their duties. Alleyne noted. “We have two incidents where an employee was threatened and one slapped in the face, police are investigating both,” he said.