Police have seized a consignment of cocaine and mandrax with a street value of over R300 million, the Hawks said on Friday.
Colonel McIntosh Polela said police seized 316 kilograms of pure cocaine, and 100 000 Mandrax tablets and arrested seven suspects in Johannesburg
The suspects were identified as a UK national, three Mozambican nationals, a dual Sri Lankan/South African national and two South Africans.
Polela said the joint operation, codenamed Operation Phoenix, began on November 17 when police received information about a container that arrived in the port of Durban.
“The container was moved from Durban to its destination in Johannesburg.”
The Hawks and Crime Intelligence waited for the opportune moment to arrest the suspects. On Thursday night, in a sting operation, a team raided a warehouse in Isando, he said in a statement.
They found members of a syndicate unpacking the container and arrested them. The last suspect was picked up a short while ago, he said.
“Afterwards, our team opened an M6 BMW belonging to the suspects, and found 100,000 Mandrax tablets.”
An investigation by the Hawks (the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, DPCI) to discover the origin of the container and its final destination was still underway.
National Commissioner General Bheki Cele, Deputy National Commissioner General Anwa Dramat, and Divisional Commissioner of DPCI, General Godfrey Lebeya, have congratulated all members that participated, headed by head of narcotics in the DPCI, Colonel Devon Naicker. - Sapa