More than 20 suspected drug dealers were arrested and hundreds of thousands of rands worth of drugs confiscated in a series of widespread police raids at the weekend.
The operations started on Friday and were expected to continue until today.
By late yesterday police reports indicated that more than 20 people had been arrested for drug possession and dealing, in the raids in East London, King William’s Town, Stutterheim and Ngcobo.
Final figures on the quantity and value of the drugs confiscated and exact number of arrests will only be made available later today when the operations end.
In East London, members of the police’s elite crime fighting unit the Hawks, with a team of officers from the K9 unit and the tactical response team, raided Currie Court in Quigney on Friday at 5am.
Four people were arrested for possession of drugs and an unknown quantity of drugs confiscated.
National police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said they would be able to provide more information on the operation today as it was still ongoing.
A police source involved in the raid said Currie Court had been identified as a home to drug dealers.
“One man tried to escape from his unit by breaking through the ceiling and climbing through to another flat. But the police were onto him and he was arrested,” said the source, adding the raid had gone off without a hitch.
In King William’s Town three people were arrested and a further three in Stutterheim.
Police also arrested five people in Ngcobo village and seized drugs including mandrax, tik and dagga.
East London spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said a further seven people had been arrested around the city by Fleet Street police between Thursday and Saturday for drug-related offences.
King William’s Town police spokeswoman Lieutenant Siphokazi Mawisa said their operations were carried out by the crime intelligence and K9 Unit. Operations started on Friday evening and continued into the early hours of Saturday.
Police first arrested a 47-year-old man in Tamara with an unlicensed firearm with 51 rounds of ammunition and one magazine. Officers also found 114 dagga bompies (bags) in his possession worth R570.
In Stutterheim, officers arrested two women aged 23 and 26 in Kubusie for dealing in drugs. “Police searched the house and found 41 arms of dagga and six bags full of dagga weighing 97.6kg to the street value of R292800.”
A woman of 40 was arrested in the area for dealing in drugs after a search of her house revealed two dagga bags weighing 14.8kg with a value of R44400.
In Ngcobo, raids on Friday and Saturday resulted in the arrest of five people and seizure of drugs including mandrax, tik and dagga, as well as cash.
Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said three people were arrested for dealing in dagga on Friday after 10.4kg was found in their possession.
On Saturday a 53-year-old woman and 26-year-old man were arrested in in Nkondlo village. Fatyela said 124 mandrax tablets, four sachets of tik powder, 2.9kg of dagga and an additional 49 bompies of dagga, plus cellphones and R9619 cash were seized during this raid.
The raids formed part of Operation Fiela, Fatyela said. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
20 arrests in huge E Cape drug bust
The operations started on Friday and were expected to continue until today.
By late yesterday police reports indicated that more than 20 people had been arrested for drug possession and dealing, in the raids in East London, King William’s Town, Stutterheim and Ngcobo.
Final figures on the quantity and value of the drugs confiscated and exact number of arrests will only be made available later today when the operations end.
In East London, members of the police’s elite crime fighting unit the Hawks, with a team of officers from the K9 unit and the tactical response team, raided Currie Court in Quigney on Friday at 5am.
Four people were arrested for possession of drugs and an unknown quantity of drugs confiscated.
National police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said they would be able to provide more information on the operation today as it was still ongoing.
A police source involved in the raid said Currie Court had been identified as a home to drug dealers.
“One man tried to escape from his unit by breaking through the ceiling and climbing through to another flat. But the police were onto him and he was arrested,” said the source, adding the raid had gone off without a hitch.
In King William’s Town three people were arrested and a further three in Stutterheim.
Police also arrested five people in Ngcobo village and seized drugs including mandrax, tik and dagga.
East London spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said a further seven people had been arrested around the city by Fleet Street police between Thursday and Saturday for drug-related offences.
King William’s Town police spokeswoman Lieutenant Siphokazi Mawisa said their operations were carried out by the crime intelligence and K9 Unit. Operations started on Friday evening and continued into the early hours of Saturday.
Police first arrested a 47-year-old man in Tamara with an unlicensed firearm with 51 rounds of ammunition and one magazine. Officers also found 114 dagga bompies (bags) in his possession worth R570.
In Stutterheim, officers arrested two women aged 23 and 26 in Kubusie for dealing in drugs. “Police searched the house and found 41 arms of dagga and six bags full of dagga weighing 97.6kg to the street value of R292800.”
A woman of 40 was arrested in the area for dealing in drugs after a search of her house revealed two dagga bags weighing 14.8kg with a value of R44400.
In Ngcobo, raids on Friday and Saturday resulted in the arrest of five people and seizure of drugs including mandrax, tik and dagga, as well as cash.
Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said three people were arrested for dealing in dagga on Friday after 10.4kg was found in their possession.
On Saturday a 53-year-old woman and 26-year-old man were arrested in in Nkondlo village. Fatyela said 124 mandrax tablets, four sachets of tik powder, 2.9kg of dagga and an additional 49 bompies of dagga, plus cellphones and R9619 cash were seized during this raid.
The raids formed part of Operation Fiela, Fatyela said. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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