Chatsworth man nabbed with illegal alcohol and medication
A 24-YEAR-OLD Bayview man has been arrested after boxes of cough mixture, pain and fever medication, and illicit alcohol were seized from his home on Sunday.
Vinolan Hamza Gonnaseelan appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of contravening the Medicine Control Act by selling Schedule 2 substances and for dealing in illicit alcohol. He was released on R1 000 bail.
Captain Carmen Rhynes, the eThekwini District spokesperson, said police working under the eThekwini District Infrastructure Task Team and their security partners received information about the alcohol and medication being sold in the Bayview area.
“They proceeded to the address and found boxes of cough mixture and illicit alcohol being sold. The man was immediately arrested and detained. The street value of the confiscated illegal items was R12 000,” said Rhynes.
Brandon Pillay, chairperson of the Bayview Community Policing Forum (CPF), said they were concerned about the number of young people that were experimenting and becoming addicted to a concoction made from cough syrup and cooldrink, called “Leen”.
“The easy access of alcohol sachets, which are readily available at tuck-shops, is worrying. We have raised this with the law enforcement officials and asked them to clamp down on the sale of these products. While we do not have the specific details or information about the recent operation, which led to the arrest of a young man, we applaud such initiatives. We make a special appeal to parents to be extra vigilant and monitor school-going children. We owe it to our children to be concerned about their future,” Pillay said.