Cape Town - More arrests and seizures of property used in cocaine smuggling are imminent, as the Hawks look to make further progress in dismantling an international drug cartel operating in South Africa.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale said eight accused, David Michael Banister, 52, Allister William Jackson, 33, Marinus van Niekerk, 31, Jacobus Hendrik Slabbert, 41, Mario Mark Joseph, 44, John Frederieck Roodman, 47, Andre Welgemoed, 44, and Anthony Trevor Tarr, 42, appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Monday on preliminary charges of dealing in drugs.
The case was postponed to November 8 where the accused will be appearing in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for formal bail applications.
“Their case is part of an ongoing investigation into the proliferation of drugs in the country.
“Previously, assets including a bakkie, trailer, three boats with a combined value of more than R18.6 million together with the drugs with an estimated value of R400 million and cash seized on the N1 highway were finally forfeited to the state by the Gauteng and Western Cape High courts, respectively,” Mogale said.
The forfeiture orders followed the arrest of Neil Pieter van Zyl, 40, on June 2 last year, while driving a bakkie pulling a trailer carrying a consignment of 805 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside the hull of the ski-boat on the N1 highway in Pretoria.
Seven more suspects, Rafiek Baderoen, 45, Rashied Baderoen, 49, Michael Norman, 39, Tenikaitis Valdas, 58, Jaco de Kock, 49, Izak Strydom, 46, and Hugh Stam, 48, were also arrested.
“They were identified as the members of an international drug trafficking syndicate, allegedly involved in the smuggling of cocaine between South Africa and Brazil,” Mogale said.
They are expected back in court on December 6.
“These arrests and seizures which dismantled an international drug cartel stems from an extensive collaborative project driven investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI,” she said.
Mogale said Israeli national, Ahmed Isa, also known as Mickey, along with two Lithuanian nationals, Donates Jukna and Jonas Zulpa, are still at large.
“More arrests and seizures of property used in cocaine smuggling are imminent,” Mogale said.
Cape Times