Boy (4) in video being told to take drugs placed into secure care - JMPD
The footage has been circulating online, showing three adults encouraging the boy to light up what police say is mandrax and further telling him to smoke.
A Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) vehicle. Pciture: Facebook/RosebankJoburg
JOHANNESBURG - Police have confirmed that a four-year-old boy seen on a viral video clip being instructed by his mother to take drugs was now in the care of the child protection unit.
The footage has been circulating online, showing three adults encouraging the boy to light up what police say is mandrax and further telling him to smoke.
The three suspects, including the boy’s mother, were arrested in Newclare, Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokesperson Xolani Fihla said the child was now in safe hands.
"The suspects were promptly arrested on charges of child abuse and neglect. Their cellphones were confiscated as evidence. All three suspects were detained at Sophiatown South African Police Service. Crucially, the child involved in the video has been safely removed from the environment and placed into the secure care of the Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Unit."