Police in Limpopo have intensified their efforts to combat the trade and possession of drugs and illicit cigarettes in the province. In a series of operations conducted last week, they arrested several suspects and confiscated drugs and cigarettes worth millions of rands.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), the operations were based on crime intelligence gathered from various sources. They involved Provincial Organised Crime Unit members, the Tracing Team, and the Highway Patrol.
Some of the operations targeted drug dealers and users in Polokwane, the capital city of Limpopo. Police arrested four foreign nationals aged between 27 and 42 for possession and dealing in drugs such as nyaope, crystal meth, heroin, and mandrax. They also seized a Mercedes-Benz vehicle.
In another operation, police arrested a 29-year-old suspect in Modjadjiskloof, near Tzaneen, for a house robbery that occurred on Friday night. Police recovered some of the stolen items, including a fridge, stove, electric appliances, clothes, blankets, bicycles, grinders, and solar-powered batteries, among other possessions. They also confiscated three rifle pellet bullets.
The operations also focused on the smuggling and selling of illicit cigarettes in the province. Police arrested three foreign nationals aged between 29 and 43 at Masodi Village after they were found transporting illicit cigarettes in a Toyota Quantum from Zimbabwe. Police found over 50 boxes of illicit cigarettes containing over 100 cartons, estimated at more than R2 million.
The Provincial Commissioner of SAPS in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, commended the members for their hard work and thanked the community members for their cooperation. She said that police will continue to wage war against drugs and illicit cigarettes, which threaten the health and safety of the people.
The suspects are expected to appear before various magistrate courts in Limpopo on Tuesday, facing charges of possession and dealing in drugs, possession of illicit cigarettes, and house robbery.
Source: The Herald
