Three Ntabankulu men were arrested on Saturday with 24 neatly wrapped plastic bags of dagga worth more than R500000.The arrest took place about 5km outside Mthatha on the N2 near Ncambedlana Farms when police, who were conducting a weekend operation, spotted a white bakkie around 8pm.
“When they stopped and searched it, they found bags and bags of dagga inside,” said Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela.
The spokesman said two of the suspects were brothers. The three had been travelling in two vehicles from Ntabankulu.
“One vehicle, which drove in front of the bakkie, acted as surveillance, scouring for any danger on the roads.”
However, it was pounced on by police in Mount Frere, while the occupants of the bakkie evaded capture. After driving more than 150km their luck ran out when they were stopped by Mthatha’s Flying Squad.
“The three suspects, aged between 24 and 39, were arrested and charged with possession and dealing in dagga.”
Fatyela said it was suspected that the dagga was being transported to Port Elizabeth or Cape Town.
The stash weighed around 552kg with an estimated street value of more than R500000.
“The men are due to appear in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court today,” Fatyela said yesterday.
lThree suspects are due to appear before different courts in the Eastern Cape today for crimes ranging from murder to possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, following the deaths of at least two people at the weekend.
In one incident on Friday a man, 27, was arrested in Butterworth’s Skiet informal settlement with an unlicensed revolver and one live round.
Police spokesman in Butterworth, Captain Jackson Manatha said he was arrested following a tip-off.
“The weapon will be circulated to establish its lawful owner as it still has its serial number.
“It will also be sent for ballistic tests to find out if it has been used in other crimes reported around Butterworth,” he said.
On the same day, a youth of 25 was arrested following the fatal stabbing of a 68-year-old man in Jojweni village near Ndabakazi.
Manatha said the victim was at home with his 18-year-old daughter when a man arrived at around 8pm and demanded money.
“When the elderly man said he did not have any money, the man drew a knife and stabbed him in the upper body, killing him instantly.”
A suspect was arrested moments later after the victim’s daughter screamed for help.
“He was chased and caught with the knife still in his possession,” said Manatha.
In Ngqamakhwe, a man of 30 was arrested after the murder of a 29-year-old man in a local shebeen.
The spokesman said there had been an argument over alcohol that ended in a stabbing. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Dagga worth R500000 found after bakkie evades Mthatha police
The arrest took place about 5km outside Mthatha on the N2 near Ncambedlana Farms when police, who were conducting a weekend operation, spotted a white bakkie around 8pm.
“When they stopped and searched it, they found bags and bags of dagga inside,” said Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela.
The spokesman said two of the suspects were brothers. The three had been travelling in two vehicles from Ntabankulu.
“One vehicle, which drove in front of the bakkie, acted as surveillance, scouring for any danger on the roads.”
However, it was pounced on by police in Mount Frere, while the occupants of the bakkie evaded capture. After driving more than 150km their luck ran out when they were stopped by Mthatha’s Flying Squad.
“The three suspects, aged between 24 and 39, were arrested and charged with possession and dealing in dagga.”
Fatyela said it was suspected that the dagga was being transported to Port Elizabeth or Cape Town.
The stash weighed around 552kg with an estimated street value of more than R500000.
“The men are due to appear in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court today,” Fatyela said yesterday.
lThree suspects are due to appear before different courts in the Eastern Cape today for crimes ranging from murder to possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, following the deaths of at least two people at the weekend.
In one incident on Friday a man, 27, was arrested in Butterworth’s Skiet informal settlement with an unlicensed revolver and one live round.
Police spokesman in Butterworth, Captain Jackson Manatha said he was arrested following a tip-off.
“The weapon will be circulated to establish its lawful owner as it still has its serial number.
“It will also be sent for ballistic tests to find out if it has been used in other crimes reported around Butterworth,” he said.
On the same day, a youth of 25 was arrested following the fatal stabbing of a 68-year-old man in Jojweni village near Ndabakazi.
Manatha said the victim was at home with his 18-year-old daughter when a man arrived at around 8pm and demanded money.
“When the elderly man said he did not have any money, the man drew a knife and stabbed him in the upper body, killing him instantly.”
A suspect was arrested moments later after the victim’s daughter screamed for help.
“He was chased and caught with the knife still in his possession,” said Manatha.
In Ngqamakhwe, a man of 30 was arrested after the murder of a 29-year-old man in a local shebeen.
The spokesman said there had been an argument over alcohol that ended in a stabbing. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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