Durban - The Hawks in Durban and Gauteng seized R1.5 million worth of mandrax tablets in Durban on Tuesday.
Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said the Hawks members from Durban and Gauteng Serious Organised Crime Investigation, working together with the Explosives Unit, seized 30 000 mandrax tablets as well as firearms.
Mhlongo said the seizure was made when a multidisciplinary team received information about a vehicle which allegedly contained drugs and firearms in Berea Centre, Durban. They proceeded to the property and found the vehicle parked with no one in it.
“A search was conducted and police found two bags containing 30 000 mandrax tablets with a street value of approximately R1.5 million. Six firearms, one stun grenade and 106 rounds of ammunition were also found in the same vehicle,” Mhlongo said.
“The seized firearms will be sent for ballistic testing to ascertain if they were used in the commission of any crime in the country.”
Mhlongo added that no arrests were made but investigations continued.
Earlier this month, the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested six more suspects in connection to the R1.5 million mandrax bust from October 2020.
Mhlongo said that Hawks officers from Pietermaritzburg Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Crime Intelligence arrested six suspects, aged between 32 and 50, for dealing in drugs in the Pietermaritzburg area.
Two of their accomplices, Zolile Zikalala, 42, and Katlego Phahlane, 26, were arrested after they were intercepted on the N3 near Hilton in Pietermaritzburg. They were found in possession of 30 000 mandrax tablets with a street value of approximately R1.5 million.
Zikalala and Phahlane are out on bail.
“Hawks members continued with an intensive investigation that led to the arrest of the six more suspects on the weekend. During the operation members seized four jaws of crack cocaine and R54 080 suspected to be proceeds of crime,” Mhlongo said.
In July 2018, at Little Farm in Harding, the Hawks found 3 230 000 mandrax tablets, 72.15 kilograms of powder, and 2 225 litres of substances used to manufacture drugs and paraphernalia. The street value of the seized drugs was approximately R254 million.
Daily News