Cape Town - Metro Police have busted a dagga dealer transporting drugs along the N2 highway on the first day of a new project aimed at combating drug trafficking in Cape Town.
On Wednesday the Metro Police’s K9 Unit, along with the Provincial Traffic Services Department, hit the N2 weighbridge near Somerset West as part of their new project to curb crime along Cape Flats highways.
Metro Police chief, Wayne le Roux, says they teamed up with traffic cops to clamp down on the drug trade with a focus on heavy duty vehicles.
“We will be looking at heavy duty vehicles as we know most of them are used to move drugs but also we will be setting up random roadblocks and we want to send a stern message to criminals that we are watching them,” he says.
“We have specialised sniffer dogs that are trained to detect drugs, firearms and explosives.”
The partnership has been made possible through grant funding, totalling just over R10 million over a four-year period.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, was all smiles when they hit paydirt at a roadblock, where K9 officer Zeke sniffed out several parcels of dagga in a courier vehicle.
“They stopped the courier vehicle and the dog found bags of dagga,” says Smith.
“The officers went to the address it was sent from in Somerset West where they discovered a whole dagga operation.
“The owner was found to be growing and selling dagga and there were about 10 minors on the property who hid themselves as the officers arrived.
“We are very pleased with this success.”
On Wednesday afternoon Metro Police officers were still busy profiling and booking the suspects and confiscated drugs.