Drug-related crimes are on the increase countrywide, but the police say they are more than able to deal with the scourge and are scoring major successes against narcotics syndicates.
Between the 2004/2005 and 2005/ 2006 financial years, drug-related crimes increased by 13 percent from 180 000 to 204 000.
Police say, however, that they are turning the tide through the seizure of drugs worth millions of rands, the destruction of drug plantations and laboratories, and hundreds of arrests.
In the 2005/2006 financial year 290 000kg of dagga valued at R377-million was seized throughout South Africa while police, through their cannabis eradication programme, destroyed 170.5ha of dagga plantations valued at R119-million in the Eastern Cape alone.
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Narcotics worth R37-million were seized at the country's ports of entry, said national police spokesperson Captain Percy Morokane.
He said that while drug-related crime had increased over the past two financial years, police were making major in roads against narcotics syndicates.
"The SAPS organised crime component has identified our ports of entry as places used by drug syndicates to move these addictive, illegal and life-destroying substances into the country.
"Fortunately our extensive informer and intelligence networks have made it possible for us to infiltrate organised criminal networks involved in the drug trade, and in the process, achieve significant seizures and arrests," he said, adding that in the past financial year 383 people were arrested at ports of entry for narcotics smuggling.
He added that since January police had discovered nine drug laboratories, the latest being near Bloemfontein where a US citizen was arrested on a farm.
Morokane said that during that arrest and raid police had seized 9kg of tik-tik powder and crystals.
Morokane said that last year 46 narcotics-manufacturing laboratories, along with hundreds of kilograms of narcotics and chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs worth millions of rands, were seized.
He said drug smuggling usually tied in with other dimensions of organised crime, such as diamond, gold and abalone smuggling, as well as vehicle hijacking, armed robbery and theft.
"The use of some drugs may also stimulate violent crimes such as murder, attempted murder, rape and assault," he said.
Morokane said that while the increase was of great concern to the authorities, police were putting strategies in place to deal with the problem.
"We are confident that these strategies will work and help us in eradicating drug-related crimes and will lead to an increase in seizures, laboratory raids and arrests," he said.
- This article was originally published on page 6 of Pretoria News on June 29, 2007
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