Durban man busted with cocaine worth R60,000
DURBAN, July 10 (ANA) – Police officers from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Drug and Firearm Unit embarked on an intelligence-driven operation on Thursday that led to the arrest of a 21-year-old man in possession of drugs.
This operation followed requests made by the Bluff community, a coastal suburb along the Indian Ocean, to clamp down on drugs in the area.
The police investigated and found that the suspect was distributing drugs to KwaMashu and other townships in the province.
“He was found in possession of 102 plastic wrappings of cocaine powder and a larger clear plastic packet of cocaine powder. The estimated street value of the recovered drugs is R60,000 (about US$3,500),” said Colonel Thembeka Mbele of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Khombinkosi Jula commended the police officers for their good work and thanked the community, too.
“The proactive approach by the community is commended. We should always remain vigilant in our neighbourhoods and immediately report suspicious activities to the police. Criminals become more brazen when they realise that ordinary citizens turn a blind eye to their transgressions,” said Jula.
The suspect was expected to appear before the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning on drug possession charges.
The way in which drugs such as cocaine find their way onto South African shores is via organised crime syndicates.
According to police officials, most of the cocaine in South Africa comes either from Nigerian or South American drug traffickers.
In July 2019, Australian police officials made the biggest single drug bust in the history of the federal police.
The 384kg that was found inside a Cat excavator was said to have been shipped from South Africa.
The drugs were said to have an estimated street value of R1.4 billion (about US$83 million at today’s exchange rate).
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
