Pretoria - A drug den and mini arms cache was discovered at a home in the Moot area during Operation O Kae Molao yesterday.
Speaking at the scene in the leafy area of Rietfontein, SAPS Tshwane district commissioner Major-General Hilda Mohajane said they were operating in the area when they got a tip-off of a house where drugs were being sold.
“We acted upon this information quickly and indeed we came across this house and the owner, a 54-year-old man, and what we found was a lot of cannabis in sealed glass bottles with other bottles containing money.
“We also discovered lollipops and cookies, which show that they have been mixed with cannabis, and we will take it to the forensic science lab to check what has been mixed with those products.”
She said they did not yet understand which market they were destined for, but they could be young children because those were items that were desirable to youths.
A further search of the house also revealed home-brewed alcohol in 20-litre containers and also packaged in different bottles with different names.
“We conducted a stringent search and also roped in the K-9 unit which assisted us to find more cannabis and packaging for cannabis.
“We also discovered that the homeowner has a firearm but it doesn't coincide, as he has five rifles and a lot of ammunition, and he also indicated that some of the firearms were not here, which is a contravention of the firearms act.
“So we will be charging him with dealing in cannabis, contravening the firearm act and also the dealing in alcohol which is also a contravention of the disaster management act as no one has to be selling alcohol and we have the cash to indicate that he has been selling alcohol.”
She said investigations would continue as ballistic and forensic tests also continue. “We also suspect this cannabis is planted somewhere close.....they are harvesting it from there.”
She said an undisclosed amount of cash was recovered from the premises and they were not yet sure how long they had been operating.
As drug dens mushroom in suburban areas and mini arms caches being discovered, Mohajane warned suspects, saying police operations would flush them out and they would be nabbed for the illicit activities they are involved in.
Pretoria News