Western Cape Police management has commended members deployed at entry and exit points of the province after they confiscated drugs with an estimated street value of R1 million on the N1 near Beaufort West on Monday, 09 August 2021. This confiscation brings the estimated value of drugs confiscated on this route since Sunday (2021-08-08) to over R2, 4 million.

Yesterday, afternoon at about 13:15 vigilant members attached to Beaufort West police were deployed strategically along the N1 when they performed high density crime prevention patrols on the highway. The members spotted a delivery truck and noticed that the driver’s behaviour was suspicious. They stopped the vehicle and upon searching the truck they found 500 kilogram of dagga stashed in 28 bags in the back of the trailer. The police confiscated the find and arrested the 31 year old driver who hails from Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

Preliminary investigation reveals that the vehicle was travelling from Durban and the consignment was destined for distribution in the Cape Metropole.

The suspect remains in custody and is expected to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrates’ court on Wednesday, 11 August 2021. He is facing a charge of dealing in drugs.

The Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, also commended those involved with these arrests and subsequent confiscations. He said the confiscations would go a long way in the strategic objective to rid communities of drugs. Lt Gen Patekile also said, “Substance abuse remains one of the major contributors to crimes against women and children. Police in this province will continue with the rigorous approach to deploy forces along these routes in an effort to eradicate drug trafficking into the Western Cape”.

Source: South African Police Service