The recruitment of schoolchildren into the gang life is on the rise, with police warning that children as young as 12 are peddling drugs at school.This came to light in an interview with gang unit members recently, with police explaining the web of organised crime and how Port Elizabeth gangs are expanding their operations across Nelson Mandela Bay and other Eastern Cape towns.In May, at least 10 people were murdered and 15 wounded as a result of gang shootings in the northern areas.The veteran gang unit detectives said gang leaders had restrategised, with the goal of destroying alliances between rival gangs to weaken the competition and even recruit their members.“What we are seeing now is a power play, but also an internal dispute between gangs and their alliances,” one of the detectives said.“Part of the power play is recruitment.“Recruiting schoolchildren gives you an endless supply of bodies and helps push drugs into the schools.“There is money in schools and once the children are hooked, they will, over time, be recruited into the gangs.“We have seen children as young as 12 who are already part of a gang.”They said the dynamics had changed, with the younger gang members more triggerhappy in an attempt to prove their loyalty to the leaders.“Youngsters are more likely to evade arrest because they are children.“We have arrested schoolchildren who have been transporting firearms in their backpacks for the gangsters.“They are the peddlers and, if they comply, the gangs will give them more responsibility,” another detective said.Their views were backed by three northern areas school principals, who asked not to be named.They said gang activity was on the rise in both primary and high schools in the area.“On more than one occasion this year, we have found drugs on the school premises.“But we are yet to find drugs in a pupil’s possession.“They hear about searches happening in school and simply hide the drugs in the bathroom or drop it wherever they are,” one principal said.“And what’s worse is that they get other children to be a lookout or sound the alarm when we get the police in for searches.“The other children are scared of these gang-affiliated pupils and protect them [by lying] when we confront the pupils.”The detectives said schools across the Bay – even prominent schools in the western suburbs – had been infiltrated by gangs, which were now peddling drugs and forming school-level gangs to ensure a continuous supply of fledgling gangsters.“The children are protected by the gangs they are affiliated to, so when there is a problem at school, the gang is called to assist – which could lead to shootings or targeting others at the school.“Their strategy is long-term and very clear.“Recruit youngsters inside schools across the Bay to capture the market and at the same time use it as a recruitment drive,” the detective said.“These youngsters are recruited as peddlers, who then get their friends and classmates addicted, and eventually recruit them into the gangs.“In every school we search, even some primary schools in the Bay, we find drugs.“At one primary school in the western suburbs, we found tik and crack cocaine.”Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu confirmed a worrying spike in children across the Bay being lured into drugs and ultimately drawn into gangs.She said one of the trends was schoolchildren forming their own school gangs.“These are affiliated to more established gangs who oversee the operations and offer protection as well as supply them with product,” Naidu said.“On the request of the schools, our narcotics detection dogs often go to the schools [in all suburbs] and find drugs.“Some are in affluent schools and others in primary schools.”Police said the children were never caught with the drugs on them.“The drugs are always found either stashed away or dropped somewhere – in almost every case, it is impossible to determine who they belong to.“If the child is found with drugs, there is internal action by the school,” Naidu said.She confirmed in some recent shootings, schoolchildren had allegedly been involved.“The recent shootings near schools in Bethelsdorp are testament to the fact that some of these school gangs are also now having internal fights, which then sees them being supplied with guns to take back control,” she said.“In some cases, the killings where schoolchildren are the shooters are linked to gang initiations, where orders were given to kill someone to prove loyalty to the gang.”Naidu said that while the spate of shootings was receiving urgent attention, several plans had been implemented to curb the ongoing violence.“We have deployed bulk resources to the affected areas and will continue to do so.“Units from as far as Gauteng and King William’s Town have been deployed to Port Elizabeth to assist with clampdown operations.“We have made several arrests and confiscated about 119 firearms over the last two months,” she said.“Schools are actively being visited and addressed by both police and department of education officials to keep everyone abreast of the goings-on.”Last week, a delegation from the provincial police head office, Bay police management and the municipality’s safety and security directorate met to discuss the spate of attacks.Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed that collaborative efforts were being undertaken.“The department also has learner support agents, who identify these troubled kids and provide counselling and a host of other services to ensure they are assisted in coping with the social ills they may face.”