Cape Town - A group of drug smugglers said to have ties to a European syndicate have been arrested on their way to Knysna with “party” drugs with a street value of more than R1 million. It is believed the group has been operating in Cape Town.
JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the four – three German men aged 26, 31 and 51, and an Italian woman, 31 – were driving to Knysna in a campervan when they were pulled over by officers on Wednesday.
“This wasn’t just a fluke,” Smith told the Cape Argus. City law enforcement officers had been on the group’s tail since early last year.
They had received a tip-off that the van was loaded with drugs. When officers searched the vehicle near the Engen Garage on the N2, close to Somerset West, they found hashish, cocaine and two bottles filled with what is suspected to be liquid MDMA.
MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or molly, has its roots in the rave scene. It’s a psychoactive substance, usually ingested in tablet or sheet form, and produces euphoria, mild hallucinations and enhanced sensation, perception and sexuality.
Smith said after officers interrogated one of the alleged smugglers, they were led to a property in Muizenberg where they found more drugs, including two more litres of liquid MDMA and bags of cocaine and hashish with an estimated street value of R750 000.
The city said it was alleged that the liquid ecstasy was bottled in Amsterdam and then transported all over the world inside sealed Champagne bottles.
Searching through the internet’s DarkNet, or Deep Web, the Cape Argus found numerous online stores selling drugs ranging from weed and mushrooms to ecstasy.
Some of these shops are apparently based in South Africa.
“(These drugs) were definitely aimed at the rave scene, en route to Knysna, presumably to a trance party,” said Smith.
Trance parties are held in summer at clubs and on farms, among other venues.
Smith described the smugglers’ work as professional. The Coke bottle used to hide the hashish and cocaine had been divided into three compartments that could be unscrewed from each other, he said.
“At the top they had (Coca-Cola), so if you smelt it or tasted it you would think it’s just a drink.”
Law enforcement officers had become accustomed to the European syndicate’s modus operandi and were using “informant work” to track down and bust smugglers working in the city.
The arrests had been the culmination of Operation Punch, a city-wide drug and gang crackdown that began in Long Street last year.
Throughout last year there were several high-profile busts that could be connected to this European syndicate, including a drug lab uncovered in Rondebosch in April.
This had helped lay the groundwork for the city’s “million-rand score”.
“This stuff is pure informant management. We have now got several members who have become adept at this who have been scratching away at this rave scene. None of this arrived suddenly or by fluke.
“This is one of our biggest and certainly most unique drug busts in a while, and a really good way to start the year.”
Southern Cape police spokesman Malcolm Pojie said MDMA had not been a problem drug in areas such as Knysna. “The biggest challenges here are weed and tik.”
His office said that between December 15 and January 11, 93 people were arrested for drug possession.
“The police confiscated drugs such as tik, heroin, mandrax and dagga during these operations.
“It is very difficult to determine whether the use of drugs increases during specific periods.”
Meanwhile, Sapa reports that a man was arrested near Beaufort West on Thursday for possession of drugs with an estimated streetvalue of R1.2m, Western Cape police said.
The 37-year-old was arrested at a roadblock on the N1. Almost 3kg of mandrax and 500 grams of crystal meth (tik) were found inside his minibus, said Captain Bernadine Steyn.
“The bus, travelling from Johannesburg to Cape Town, was searched during which the drugs… were found in the suspect’s backpack.”