The National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola, on Thursday morning, led a drug destruction operation of approximately R800 million in Johannesburg
These drugs include heroin, cocaine, mandrax and dagga that were seized in high-profile cases.
[Watch] @SAPoliceService destroys R800 million worth of drugs seized during operations. These include cocaine, mandrake, etc #operationshanela pic.twitter.com/t7wAudW7XD
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) October 26, 2023
One such case is last year's massive drug bust in Maydon Wharf near the Durban harbour where more than one tonne of cocaine with a street value of R400 million was seized.
In another case, police seized 1.2 tonnes of illegal pharmaceutical drugs.
Masemola says all the drugs go through testing at a chemistry lab and can only be destroyed once a court order is issued confirming the finalisation of a case.
He says once destroyed, all materials will be audited and a secondary audit will be conducted to ensure compliance.
Masemola says the destruction of these drugs will have a positive impact on communities.
He also mentioned the recent drug confiscation of R150 million of cocaine in KwaZulu Natal and how it highlights the cooperation between law enforcement agencies across the world in clamping down on transnational organised crime.
