[imagesource: SAPS]

No entjies, no booze, and now a big cocaine bust – sorry, Cape Town fiends.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a truck carrying an estimated R30 million worth of cocaine was intercepted en route to the city.

The Hawks made the arrest at a petrol station on the N1, and a 36-year-old suspect is expected to appear in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court tomorrow.

The man was arrested when he drove to the petrol station to collect the drugs. The driver of the truck was released, with Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase stating that the company transporting the drugs had been unwittingly used.

When law enforcement searched the truck, they found 38 one-kilogram packages, reports IOL:

“Preliminary investigations have established that the container came from abroad and transited through different provinces before making its way to Cape Town.”

Image: SAPS

The national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, has applauded the team for the arrest and drug seizure.

“This haul and many others that have been recently confiscated shows that the supply chains of organised criminal groups have been severed.

Image: SAPS

“May I also call upon the community not to support organised criminal groups by purchasing drugs as this demand will encourage the syndicates to find new ways of providing these dangerous substances,” said Lebeya.

If the syndicates are hard-pressed, they could always move on to selling cigarettes, which have now reached astronomical prices.

Despite the national lockdown, the Hawks have been kept on their toes. Last week, officers found ecstasy powder and tablets, with an estimated value in excess of R6 million, in a container at Cape Town Harbour.

I’m not sure who’s jolling this hard during lockdown, but I guess the show goes on.

Perhaps they’re stocking up for the virtual Burning Man.

[source:iol]