Drugs raid on Rastafarian temple
Pastor Dale Morgan
Drugs raid on Rastafarian temple*
By Ben Quinn
Last Updated: 5:24pm BST 12/04/2007
A Rastafarian temple which was turned into Britain’s biggest drug
“supermarket” has been stormed by 100 police.
Police said that there was 'clear evidence' that firearms had been on
the premises in the past
Armed officers used stun grenades during the early morning raid on the
four terraced houses in Kennington, south London, to distract those inside.
The 32-room squat was turned into a place of worship by Rastafarians
after Bob Marley visited the properties on St Agnes Place in the 1970s.
But police said criminal elements had muscled in on the temple in St
Agnes Place and turned it into a “crack den” where millions of pounds
were being made from the sale of cocaine, crack, cannabis and other
illicit substances.
Some 600 people visited the premises each day, mostly to buy drugs.
Customers arriving for their fix were met by “gatekeepers” at the front
door and were then ushered to one of a number of drugs rooms devoted to
dealing different types of substances.
Video footage released today showed one man freely brandishing a gun
outside the premises, which officers had been secretly filming around
the clock for the past eight weeks.
Evidence had been gathered against a core of about 12 people suspected
of drug dealing since the police operation began in October, while
forensic specialists will spend the new few days combing over each room.
Twenty three people were in police custody following the 3am raid.
Bob Marley: Police have raided a Rastafarian temple
Rastafarianism developed in Jamaica
Martin Bridger, Lambeth Borough Commander, said that the sheer volume of
people coming to the premises to buy drugs had surpassed anything which
he had ever witnessed before in his 30 years of experience.
“It was clear from out inquiries that there were a number of people who
were controlling drugs trading,” he said.
“Our intelligence was that some of these people were people of
particular violence, and that they had access to firearms.”
He added: “It’s the headquarters for the Rastafarian community for the
UK let alone Lambeth and we’re proud of that.
“But members of the management committee have actually come to me and
said it’s being taken over by people who are supplying drugs”
Six rounds of live ammunition was discovered under the floorboards at
the premises, while several kilos of cannabis and a quantity of crack
cocaine were also found.
The four Victorian townhouses, topped by a Rastafarian flag, were
frequently visited by Bob Marley in the 1970s.
St. Agnes Place, known locally as “Bob Marley” street, became famous as
London’s longest squatted street where residents resisted eviction for
more than 30 years. It was first squatted in 1960.
During the mid-1970s Marley stayed with the community. In Nov 2005,
Lambeth Council was given a High Court order to evict 150 residents from
21 properties in the street. Councillor Steve Reed, the leader of
Lambeth Borough Council, said that the buildings, which are owned by the
council, would now be demolished.
Officials from the council said they have entered into negotiations to
find alternative accommodation and facilities for worship for members of
the local Rastafarian faith who had continued to use the premises.