Port Elizabeth - A family of five -- arrested for dealing in drugs in Port Elizabeth -- have been released due to insufficient evidence, the Eastern Cape police said on Friday.
Police raided a house in Humewood on Thursday, and confiscated 16 bags of mandrax tablets consisting of 13 347 individual tablets, R103 450 cash, and a cellphone.
Acting on a ‘tip-off’, the South African Police Service (SAPS) Humewood members swooped in and searched the house, the garage, and the wendy house.
Police had arrested five suspects, including a father, mother, and three children aged between 20 and 58 years old.
However, provincial police spokesman, Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana confirmed on Friday that four of the five suspects were released due to insufficient evidence and the fifth suspect, was charged and taken to court.
Kinana said the case was provisionally withdrawn pending a forensic report and the investigation continues.
Police had earlier said it was alleged that the drugs arrived from Khayelitsha.
Earlier this week the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks), in conjunction with other police units, seized cocaine with a street value of R720 million on-board a ship at the Port of Ngqura.
At the time, the Hawks said the drugs, which came from Brazil, was destined for Singapore before reaching its final destination in India.