Pretoria – The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mpumalanga arrested a 44-year-old man at Mzinti near Tonga for possession of 110 bags of dagga with an estimated street value of about R252 000.
“It is reported that police at Tonga were busy patrolling around the area when they spotted a suspicious VW Polo. The members stopped the vehicle and upon searching, 110 bags of compressed dagga weighing about 168 kilograms were found inside,” said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
The man was then arrested and his vehicle was confiscated.
“The suspect is charged with dealing in dagga. Police believe that the man is from the Kingdom of eSwatini,” said Mohlala.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela has welcomed the arrest of the 44-year-old, and saluted her charges for intercepting the dagga before it went onto the streets.
“Lieutenant General Manamela further applauded members for their vigilance which yielded positive results as the man was arrested before the seized dagga reached its destination,” said Mohlala.
Last month, two men, aged 37 and 44, were arrested in Mpumalanga for the possession of dagga valued at about R410 000 at Low's Creek.
“According to the [SAPS] report, the members received information about a large volume of dagga stored at a certain house in Low's Creek. They then conducted an intelligence-driven operation and upon arrival at the house, they conducted a search where 13 bags stashed with dagga were discovered,” Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said at the time.
He said the dagga weighed more than 273 kilograms.
A week earlier, two men aged 27 and 31 appeared before the Nkomazi Magistrate's Court in Mpumalanga after being found in possession of a load of dagga with an estimated street value of R58,700.
The two were arrested after their Toyota Corolla which was heading to Gauteng was stopped during a stop and search operation at Mzinti in Nkomazi.
“Police then requested to search their vehicle and upon searching, 20 bags wrapped with plastic loaded with dagga weighing 39.159 kg were confiscated and the suspects were arrested hence their court appearance today,” Mdhluli said.
The vehicle was also seized.
Preliminary police investigations suggested that one of the two accused men is from neighbouring eSwatini.
IOL