Authorities may be on the trail of a massive drug syndicate after ARVs were confiscated at an N2 roadblock at the weekend.
Three Eastern Cape health department officials were briefly detained after a large box, packed with apparently unauthorised anti-retroviral tablets, was found on the back seat of a private vehicle driven by a nurse.
She was stopped at a routine police roadblock between Butterworth and Dutywa on Saturday.
The nurse, from Zalarha clinic, which falls under the Amahlathi local service area (LSA), was detained and taken to the Dutywa police station, where officers requested authorisation for the drugs.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said two of the nurse’s colleagues – an assistant pharmacist and a driver – suddenly arrived at the station and produced a “letter of authorisation” that led to the nurse and the drugs being released.
Butterworth police spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha said: “Her colleagues came to the police station with paperwork which authorised the medicine she was travelling with. She was released and not charged.”
However, Kupelo said the letter had been “doctored”.
He said: “The two health employees rushed to Dutywa without any authorisation for their vehicle to give police a doctored letter, which led to the release of the drugs and the nurse. They misled the police. Also, there could be tampering with evidence as we have to count exactly how many drugs there were and what else was there,” said Kupelo.
Kupelo said that while the nurse was making calls at Dutywa police station, a senior sub-district director of Amahlathi LSA, who happened to be in the Butterworth area, alerted senior health officials about the problem.
She advised the health department against “any interference with police work. The director advised that the matter be handled by police and no one should interfere from the department as they would deal with it on Monday, but then the letter came and she was released and the drugs removed.”
By then word had reached a senior health official in Bhisho. After a discussion with Bhisho police they decided to again stop the car, which was heading into Bhisho from Dutywa.
Kupelo said police gave chase and pulled the vehicle over. The two health officials were arrested and the drugs confiscated, this time permanently.
The nurse, who had been allowed to travel on homewards to Dutywa, was not re-arrested.
The assistant pharmacist and driver were also released.
Kupelo said: “We suspect collusion. The department is also investigating if this is the work of a syndicate.”
Kupelo said the nurse had told police at the roadblock that the drugs had been “borrowed” from Zalarha clinic and that she was tasked with driving them to Dimbaza clinic, which was only a few kilometres away.
He said: “She was supposed to be delivering the ARVs to Dimbaza, but she was found travelling more than 100km away in the opposite direction.”
Dimbaza clinic fell under Buffalo City Metro and Kupelo said: “There is no way that these drugs could be exchanged without the clinic supervisor, a local service area director and district director knowing about it.”
“This will be thoroughly investigated.
“You must understand that a vast portion of our department’s budget goes on salaries and medication, and we cannot allow such things to happened without authorisation.
“Every drug released needs to be accounted for and signed off. People complain about the government of the day saying there’s no delivery, while some of us within the system may be stealing. Let us expose those who are in the wrong within the system,” said Kupelo. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Cops find ARVs at roadblock
Three Eastern Cape health department officials were briefly detained after a large box, packed with apparently unauthorised anti-retroviral tablets, was found on the back seat of a private vehicle driven by a nurse.
She was stopped at a routine police roadblock between Butterworth and Dutywa on Saturday.
The nurse, from Zalarha clinic, which falls under the Amahlathi local service area (LSA), was detained and taken to the Dutywa police station, where officers requested authorisation for the drugs.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said two of the nurse’s colleagues – an assistant pharmacist and a driver – suddenly arrived at the station and produced a “letter of authorisation” that led to the nurse and the drugs being released.
Butterworth police spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha said: “Her colleagues came to the police station with paperwork which authorised the medicine she was travelling with. She was released and not charged.”
However, Kupelo said the letter had been “doctored”.
He said: “The two health employees rushed to Dutywa without any authorisation for their vehicle to give police a doctored letter, which led to the release of the drugs and the nurse. They misled the police. Also, there could be tampering with evidence as we have to count exactly how many drugs there were and what else was there,” said Kupelo.
Kupelo said that while the nurse was making calls at Dutywa police station, a senior sub-district director of Amahlathi LSA, who happened to be in the Butterworth area, alerted senior health officials about the problem.
She advised the health department against “any interference with police work. The director advised that the matter be handled by police and no one should interfere from the department as they would deal with it on Monday, but then the letter came and she was released and the drugs removed.”
By then word had reached a senior health official in Bhisho. After a discussion with Bhisho police they decided to again stop the car, which was heading into Bhisho from Dutywa.
Kupelo said police gave chase and pulled the vehicle over. The two health officials were arrested and the drugs confiscated, this time permanently.
The nurse, who had been allowed to travel on homewards to Dutywa, was not re-arrested.
The assistant pharmacist and driver were also released.
Kupelo said: “We suspect collusion. The department is also investigating if this is the work of a syndicate.”
Kupelo said the nurse had told police at the roadblock that the drugs had been “borrowed” from Zalarha clinic and that she was tasked with driving them to Dimbaza clinic, which was only a few kilometres away.
He said: “She was supposed to be delivering the ARVs to Dimbaza, but she was found travelling more than 100km away in the opposite direction.”
Dimbaza clinic fell under Buffalo City Metro and Kupelo said: “There is no way that these drugs could be exchanged without the clinic supervisor, a local service area director and district director knowing about it.”
“This will be thoroughly investigated.
“You must understand that a vast portion of our department’s budget goes on salaries and medication, and we cannot allow such things to happened without authorisation.
“Every drug released needs to be accounted for and signed off. People complain about the government of the day saying there’s no delivery, while some of us within the system may be stealing. Let us expose those who are in the wrong within the system,” said Kupelo. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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