KZN cocaine deaths - dealer bust

Published Feb 1, 2012

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An undercover drug purchase by police at Sheffield Beach has netted an alleged cocaine dealer who they believe supplied two people who recently died of it.

Police suspect the alleged dealer, a 42-year-old man living near the spot where the fatal powder was sold, was the one who supplied Gareth Kyle, 29, and Tamryn Coetzee, 28.

Tracking him through cellphone records, the police sting started when they staged two buys last week, and a final one for about R3 000 worth of cocaine at lunchtime on Tuesday in Sheffield Beach’s Melinda Lane.

If positively linked to the deaths of Pinetown boat-builder Kyle and friend Coetzee, the man could be charged with culpable homicide, police said. He was expected to appear in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on drug dealing charges.

Kyle and Coetzee died at a party in the early hours of Sunday, January 22, but their bodies were only discovered by their friends at about 10am. Kyle was found slumped on the kitchen floor and Coetzee on a couch in the lounge.

It is believed the two could have died from contaminated cocaine. Traces of cocaine were found in small packets at the flat. A toxicology report is expected to confirm the type of drug and if it was contaminated.

Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge, said the provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, had called for a full-scale investigation.

Mdunge said the suspected dealer was arrested after a special police operation, less than a kilometre from the flat where Kyle and Coetzee had been partying with friends.

On Tuesday, officers from the Durban Organised Crime Drug Unit and Crime Intelligence kept observation in the Sheffield Beach area for several hours. The suspected dealer was drawn by a telephone call from a couple posing as buyers, and appeared in Melinda Lane, on foot and with a one-year-old child on his hip, at the arranged time of 1pm.

Police pounced. The child was hysterical and the agents attempted to console her. She was taken to her mother nearby, who verbally and physically abused the woman agent, calling her a troublemaker.

Police swooped on the man’s house with sniffer dogs to search for more drugs. He allegedly claimed he had bought R3 000 worth of drugs from a dealer in Mahatma Gandhi (Point) Road, in Durban, earlier on Tuesday.

Mdunge said: “We have strong suspicions that this man is linked to the deaths of Kyle and Coetzee. It is believed he supplied the drugs to them. Our investigations are looking very positive and we hope to make a direct link to the case.

“We will also investigate if the suspect’s motives were deliberate. He could face charges of culpable homicide.

“This is a priority investigation to show the dealers and those who do drugs that we mean business. The police are well equipped and have the resources and expertise to clamp down on dealers and users. The message from us is very clear: drugs will not be tolerated.”

Since January 1, Mdunge said they had seized more than R1 million worth of drugs in the province.

Police sources said pure cocaine sold for between R250 000 and R300 000/kg. “This is then bulked with weight-loss and appetite suppresants, chemicals and teething powder. The dealer then sells this product and almost trebles his profit on a kilogram.”

The source warned that narcotics were a huge threat in KwaZulu-Natal and dangerous chemicals and additives were being mixed with drugs such as cocaine.

“Dealers will do anything for money. Our advice is for people to stay away from drugs. The risks are not worth the effort. It could prove to be deadly.

“Presently there is a huge demand for cocaine in the province. It is a designer drug and is viewed as a social drug. But, if over-used or contaminated it could be fatal.” - Daily News

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