TWO suspects who were bust allegedly transporting drugs worth more than R1 million are expected to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Central Karoo K9 members conducted a vehicle check point in the CBD of the town on Friday when they stopped a truck.
According to police spokesperson Christopher Spies, a search ensued when a trained narcotics police dog, Bruno, reacted to a box inside the vehicle.
“The members opened the box and found 10 bags with 10 000 mandrax tablets, with an estimated street value of R500 000, inside. This discovery led to an intensive search of the vehicle and a further ten boxes of Khat estimated at R570 000 were discovered on board,” said Spies.
Police confiscated the drugs and arrested two men aged 24 and 37 on charges of dealing in drugs.
Spies said investigators attached to the Western Cape Provincial Detectives Narcotics Section are probing the matter and a preliminary investigation indicates that the truck was en route to Cape Town for delivery at the time it was found.
Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, has since praised the K9 members for their dedication and commitment to eradicate drug trafficking in the province.
“Our strategic deployment of specialised units along entry and exit routes of the Western Cape are yielding excellent results. More resources are directed to the rural areas in bolstering our crime fighting efforts. Our fleet were also enhanced with the deployment of more high performance vehicles on our highways. These efforts would be maintained as the police strive to rid communities of drugs.”