December 26 (ANA) – A driver who was transporting illicit drugs, hidden in a false compartment in his vehicle, was bust on Christmas Day, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Monday.
Captain Lloyd Ramovha said the courier was en-route to George in the Western Cape from Soweto in Gauteng, when police acting on a tip-off intercepted his car and used sniffer dogs to uncover the concealed drugs.
He said the Hawks together with the local police and K9 Unit arrested the 45-year-old suspect was arrested on Christmas Day along N9 between Uniondale and Harold.
“The search of the vehicle with the help of a K9 narcotics dog uncovered a false compartment containing about 75,000 units of Mandrax tablets valued at approximately R3.8 million,” said Ramovha.
He said a little more than R11,000 in cash was also seized by the police.
The suspect is due to appear in the George Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday to face charges relating to drug dealing.
“This arrest follows that of four suspects late in November near a Smallholding in Vredenburg for drug dealing, the four accused Hosia Mbulaheni Mathoho (58), Danniel Matalla (31), Khakhathi Nataniel Mulaudzi (41), Wandile Morgan Songelwa (52) also reportedly from Gauteng,” said Ramovha.
The four were stopped and searched along N7 in the West Coast leading to the recovery of about 168000 tablets valued at approximately R7.5 million.
The accused in this matter remain in custody pending their next Court appearance on the 13th of January 2017 in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court.
In another development the Hawks said arrests were imminent following the recovery of about 51,000 units of Mandrax valued at about R2.2 million on the 23rd of December.
Hawks members acted on information concerning a suspicious package at a local courier company in Airport Industrial. They found the drugs hidden in three wooden boxes.
“This is indicative of our ongoing endeavours to curb the proliferation of Drugs in our communities. It is within our mission and competence to continue unraveling high level criminal enterprises by focusing on disrupting the business side of the criminal system,” said Ramovha.
– African News Agency (ANA)
