Suspect with stash of tik and mandrax in minibus taxi nabbed

Published Jun 13, 2022

Share

Cape Town - A 32-year-old Nigerian man will appear in the Hopefield Magistrate’s Court after he was nabbed with drugs with an estimated street value of R467 000.

Police spokesperson Andre Traut said the arrest is part of the SAPS' pursuit to tackle crime on the West Coast.

"Members of the local K9 unit teamed up with Provincial Traffic and conducted a road block on the R27 (Monday) morning, which proved to be a fruitful one. The members pulled over a minibus taxi and conducted a routine search which led to the discovery of a consignment of drugs comprising tik and mandrax tablets with a combined value of around R467 000.

Mandrax vakued at R467 000 was confiscated during a roadblock operation in Hopefield. Picture: SAPS

"The passenger who claimed responsibility for the drugs, a 32 year old Nigerian male was arrested and detained, and is expected to make his court appearance in Hopefield once he has been charged. The suspect was en route from Cape Town where he resides to Vredenburg to trade with his illegal contraband," said Traut.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated intelligence operation police seized 12 cellular tower batteries with an estimated value of R700 000 in Bellville on Sunday evening when a long distance bus was searched.

"It is suspected that the batteries were destined for Zimbabwe. The circumstances surrounding the discovery and seizure are under investigation and arrests are yet to be made," said Traut.

Cape Times