Isha Sesay
A SHANTY town renowned for being the epicentre of drug dealing in Mallorca has mounted a blockade to prohibit customers from entering.
Yesterday, civilians from the Son Banya estate placed a barricade at its only access point to make clear that outsiders would not be welcome.
Made up of sofas, garbage bins and concrete slabs, the roadblock was accompanied by a large sign reading: ‘No one from outside the town is allowed to pass. Coronavirus.”
It is understood that patriarchs of the clans had unanimously voted to cut off access to customers at a town meeting over the weekend to protect their community from COVID-19.
This message was soon echoed across the island, leading to several people making a last-ditch attempt to pick up narcotics.
One ‘buyer’ had managed to bypass the barricade, but was met with strong resistance from residents.
Hauling stones at the man’s car and fracturing his windows, the Policia Nacional were called to break up the confrontation.
Making light of the situation, one of the residents allegedly claimed they were waiting for Pedro Sanchez and ‘the ponytails’, a reference to Pablo Iglesias, to provide them with some type of payment.
“We are going to ask for an ERTE, as out of responsibility we cannot work.”
The shanty-town, which lies just outside the centre of Palma, has been at the centre of controversy in recent years.
In May of last year, the City Council began procedures to completely demolish the makeshift estate, handing out eviction orders to residents in order to make way for a newly built residential home.
Despite enticing families with offers of new homes and monetary support from the government, approximately 100 people still remain on the site.
