Gauteng police have seized R20 million worth of cocaine during an intelligence-driven operation that led to the arrest of a 56-year-old suspect. According to police, the multidisciplinary operation was executed on Tuesday evening, on a smallholding in Blue Hills, Midrand.
COURTESY: SAPSIt was led by the SAPS Crime Intelligence Head Office and
included members of the Gauteng Organised Crime Unit, the Johannesburg K9 Unit,
and the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC).
SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe confirmed that the police
team had been acting on reliable information about a suspected drug storage
site.
"Our intelligence officers had been monitoring this
operation for some time. Acting swiftly on the information, our team was able
to intercept and seize a large consignment of cocaine before it could reach the
streets."
The drugs, weighing approximately 80 kilograms, were
discovered concealed in a storage room on the property.
‘’Early investigations suggest the cocaine had been
smuggled into South Africa from a neighbouring country and was destined for
Cape Town.’’
Mathe adds that the operation underscores SAPS’s ongoing
efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating across provincial and
national borders.
"This seizure is a clear indication that we are
closing in on organised crime syndicates. These substances destroy lives and
communities, and we are determined to stop them at the source. We want to
assure the public that the SAPS remains relentless in its pursuit of those who
profit from the illegal drug trade. Our members are working around the clock to
bring every perpetrator to justice."
The arrested suspect, believed to be the owner of the plot,
is expected to appear in the Midrand Magistrate’s Court later this week on
charges of possession and dealing in drugs.
COURTESY: SAPSDone by: Mitchum George
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