TRUCK DRIVER NABBED WITH DAGGA WORTH E500 000 IN SA.
MBABANE – Dagga worth over E500 000 was found
hidden in sawdust in a Swazi-registered truck in South Africa.
The truck driver has since been arrested by
the South African police following the incident that happened yesterday.
It could not be ascertained where the truck was
destined to but it was nabbed at Jeppes Reef, South Africa, after crossing
through the Matsamo border gate. A routine check by the South African Police
Service (SAPS) led to the discovery of the bales of dagga hidden in the truck
load of sawdust. The incident was confirmed by Mpumalanga’s Head of Corporate
Communications Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, who also mentioned that the truck was
indeed Swazi-registered and its driver was Swazi. The suspect is yet to appear
before court on charges of being found in possession of the illegal herb.
Hlathi explained that the truck was stopped
and searched after suspicions that it may be transporting certain illegal
substances.
“The truck’s reason to enter South Africa was
quite vague so our police did a routine check in the truck, and did so
vigilantly. In the routine inspection, loads of dagga was found hidden inside
the truck which was also full of sawdust.
“We were not acting on any tip-off, but the
police were vigilant on their routine work,” Hlatsi commented.
The sawdust, according to sources, was meant
to conceal from anyone, the dagga inside the truck.
At the time Hlathi was contacted, the amount of
dagga which had been offloaded was worth more than E500 000.
“We are yet to take the truck to the nearest
station and offload more bags which will probably, in total, be worth way
more,” he continued.
In another dagga-related incident, a 51-year-old
Swazi man was arrested for being found in possession of dagga on the N17
highway, between Bethal and Ermelo, by members of the Secunda SAPS Flying Squad
during a roadblock.
Constable Sibeko from Secunda Flying Squad confirmed
this, stating that the search of the car was motivated by the foreign
registration plates.
“While patrolling the highway, we spotted a
blue Nissan Serena with Swazi registration plates and stopped it and requested
to search it. The driver of the vehicle gave us permission.
“We found eight packets of compressed dagga and
arrested the suspect for the illegal possession of dagga,” he said.