Cape Town - Police officers made a dent in the illegal drug trade in the Western Cape when they executed three major busts in two days.
The Narcotics Organised Crime detectives with the Namaqualand K-9 unit intercepted large quantities of heroin, crystal meth and cocaine with a street value of R5.4 million, in the West Coast town of Vredendal on Tuesday, May 4.
The consignment was destined for Cape Town.
Two men and a woman, aged 32, 33 and 39, appeared in court on charges of dealing in and possession of drugs.
The follow day, police from the National Intervention Unit, armed with intelligence, pounced on two storage facilities in Westlake and Noordhoek in Cape Town where they seized 30 000 mandrax tablets and 0.435kg of crystal meth.
A 33-year-old suspect was arrested and has since appeared in court in Wynberg. The street value of the drugs is estimated at R2.1m.
Meanwhile, Lockdown II forces deployed in Cape Town to deal with serious violent crimes descended on Wednesday evening, on a residence in Windsor, Kraaifontein. They discovered a dagga cultivating lab and an assortment of cannabis products.
The street value of the confiscated drugs is R5.4m.
Several rounds of ammunition and R56 000 cash were also seized. Two suspects were arrested in the house that is also used as a karate studio.
Western Cape Acting Provincial Commissioner Thembisile Patekile lauded the officers for their efforts and success.
“The illicit drug trade is one of our focus areas as we strive to create safer Western Cape communities. Our operational plans are targeting both the runners as well as major dealers,” Patekile said.