File Picture
Image: File Picture
In a significant move against drug trafficking, Hawks members in Mpumalanga successfully secured a forfeiture order against a vehicle valued at R270,000, which was implicated in the transport of drugs.
This decisive action follows a seizure made in March 2018, when police discovered 30 rolls of heroin, weighing a total of 56 kg, hidden in a false compartment beneath the vehicle.
Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, spokesperson for the Provincial Hawks, stated that the recovery occurred shortly after the vehicle had passed through the Nkomazi Toll Plaza in Kaapmuiden, en route to Nelspruit.
Nkosi said the operation was initiated based on tip-off information from a whistleblower, leading to the arrest of two suspects, a Malawian national and a South African citizen.
Both suspects were released on bail during the Covid-19 pandemic; however, the situation escalated as the Malawian national fled and failed to appear in court again.
Meanwhile, the case against the South African accomplice has been temporarily withdrawn, pending the re-arrest of the Malawian.
Nkosi added that investigations into the vehicle's ownership revealed it was registered under a false address, making the actual owner untraceable.
Meanwhile, Major General Nico Gerber, the provincial head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, praised the response of the police and the vital role played by the whistleblower in the case.
“We commend the speedy reaction from members who received information and appreciate the role played by the whistleblower. We are also happy that the suspects have lost their tool of trade. We commit our resolve to deprive criminals of their proceeds and instrumentalities of crime. You cannot profit from crime,” Gerber added.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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