Durban - A Durban couple have been jailed for 15 years each for manufacturing a drug new to the local and international market that is said to be more dangerous than ecstasy and tik.
The prosecution and conviction in the city’s regional court on Monday attracted the attention of the UN and the US Department of Justice because Durban police were believed to be the first to have found a clandestine laboratory making the lethal drug known as “bath salts”.
Durban magistrate Sharon Marks said the police had made impressive witnesses and commended the thorough investigation by Warrant Officer Louis Fourie.
She said the handling of the exhibits by the forensics team could not be faulted and there was no doubt an Illovo property was used to manufacture drugs. A flat in PGA Park was possibly the couple’s office or “showroom” as drug samples and money were found there.
Collins Uwakaneme, a Nigerian citizen, and his South African wife, Veliswe, were on Monday found guilty of contravening the Medicines and Related Substances Act for being in possession of chemical compounds used to make a drug without a required permit.
They were also found guilty of money laundering and received an effective 15-year prison sentence.
Since the couple’s arrest in 2013, drug trafficking laws have been amended to include this drug and its ingredients, resulting in a harsher sentence for offenders than that imposed by the Medicines and Related Substances Act, which has a 10-year maximum.
After obtaining search warrants and searching the Illovo Beach house, arresting the couple and also searching their other properties in PGA Park, uMhlanga and Durban North, police found:
* about 50kg in powder and solid substances used exclusively to make “bath salts”, which when manufactured would be worth about R50 million;
* about 51 000 tablets, similar in appearance to ecstasy tablets, with a street value of R4.3m;
* R206 000 in cash;
* drug manufacturing equipment such as scales, sieves, fans, industrial gloves, food processors and mixers;
* corn starch and chicken feed said to be used to create bulk in the manufacture of drugs.
Colonel Amod Hoosen, of the organised crime section of the directorate for priority crime investigation in Durban, on Monday testified that such secret labs were difficult to find. In this case, it was found in a gated estate with high security and away from prying eyes.
Six police experts testified for the State and all indicated this was a clandestine laboratory and that these chemical compounds, when analysed, fell under the Medicines and Related Substances Act. Hoosen said the drug could be fatal.
The couple’s defence was that they were actually making commercial bath salts and had purchased the chemicals and recipe from China.
But Marks said no crystals for commercial bath salts were found, nor was there packaging to this effect. Police had also testified to the overwhelming smell of chemicals similar to that found in clandestine labs.
The couple testified that the money was from proceeds of their car sales business and the sale of imported bags from China. The State presented evidence that the couple were unemployed, had no bank accounts and, while they were named as directors of companies, these companies were deregistered.
Veliswe had said the chicken feed was something she bought from the Eastern Cape to feed the birds on the beach.
“They were economical with the truth and were both unsatisfactory witnesses,” said Marks.
State advocate Mahen Naidu argued this drug had a serious potency and the drug trafficking legislation had to change because these manufacturers were getting away with lesser sentences.
The couple’s Legal Aid attorney, Naren Narotam, argued they were found to be in possession of drugs and not found guilty of manufacturing these drugs. He said that while the international community had an eye on this matter, he urged the court not to get carried away and take into account South Africa’s laws.
They were sentenced to 10 years each for contravening the Medicines Act and 15 years for money laundering, to run concurrently resulting in an effective 15-year sentence each.
‘Crocodile’ can kill user
“Bath salts” or designer cathinones (synthetic stimulants) are sold in powder form as well as tablets and capsules.
It can be sniffed, taken orally, smoked or put into a solution and injected into the veins.
“People who abuse these substances have reported agitation, insomnia, paranoia, delusions, suicidal thoughts, seizures and panic attacks,” according to a drug fact sheet handed in as evidence in the Durban Regional Court trial against Collins Uwakaneme, 39, and his wife, Veliswe, 34.
It causes a rapid heart rate and can lead to a heart attack.
Testifying on Monday, Colonel Amod Hoosen, of the organised crime section of the directorate for priority crime investigation in Durban, said this case was the first in the world dealing with the manufacturing of the drug.
He also said the UN was sending a team to South Africa to hear how the prosecution was conducted in this case.
Hoosen said in the US the drug was previously sold at shops, until police learnt of this new phenomenon.
“We did have several finds of this drug here in South Africa during undercover operations, but not in the quantity as in this case. In Russia this drug is called ‘crocodile’ and people are dying there after taking it.
“Australian police are also investigating. From the quantity found here, I can only assume it was going out to be sold around the world,” he said.
He testified that on social media word was spreading that this was now the drug of choice and that drug traffickers found a new method to “fly under the radar” of legislation to prevent detection and arrest.
According to the US Department of Justice’s, National Drug Intelligence Centre, common field test kits, drug-detecting canines and routine urine drug screens do not detect this substance and their law enforcement officials have been challenged in interdicting these drugs and prosecuting their manufacturers.
Daily News