A 29-year-old man is expected to appear in the Aliwal North Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Thursday on charges of dealing in drugs.
The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, March 25, during a multidisciplinary team operation comprising of the Komani Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (known as Hawks) Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Aliwal North K9, Aliwal North Crime Intelligence, Aliwal North Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC), and Aliwal North Detectives.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said the team received intelligence-driven information regarding a truck that was on its way to Johannesburg towards Aliwal North, allegedly loaded with bags of drugs.
“A disruptive operation was conducted to intercept the mentioned truck, which was spotted and stopped when approaching Aliwal North central business district (CBD). The police found the suspect inside of the truck and requested a search. During the search, the joint team recovered bags of crystal meth loaded at the back of the truck for which the suspect could not give sufficient explanation to the police, leading to his arrest,” Mhlakuvana said.
The drugs weighed over 300 kg.
“A consignment of drugs weighing 314.45 kilograms with an estimated street value of R51 million was seized as well as the truck for further probing. The suspect is expected to make his first court appearance before Aliwal North Magistrate’s Court on March 27, 2025,” Mhlakuvana said.
In a separate matter in the province, the search for the kidnapped teacher remains ongoing.
The teacher was abducted from the Happydale Special School in Algoa Park, Gqeberha, on Monday.
Video footage of the kidnapping has gone viral on social media.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL
