News24 | R3.6m cocaine found in truck travelling from Joburg to George

Police seized 6kg of cocaine worth R3.6 million from a truck on the N12 in George after a targeted tip-off.

• Police seized 6kg of cocaine worth R3.6 million from a truck on the N12 in George after a targeted tip-off.
• A suspect was arrested after police acted on a tip-off.
• It is believed the shipment was travelling from Johannesburg to a drug den in George.

A tip-off led police to a 6kg cocaine shipment worth an estimated R3.6 million, which officers seized along the N12 in George on Thursday.

According to police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg, the tip-off indicated that a truck travelling from Johannesburg to George was carrying drugs.

Officers stopped the vehicle along the N12 and during a search, a box containing cocaine was found hidden in the cabin.

Authorities believe the shipment was destined for a drug den in the area and say the bust forms part of a broader investigation into the drug’s origin and distribution network.

Twigg said a 46-year-old man was arrested on charges of dealing in cocaine.

He is expected to appear in the George Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 8 December.

Western Cape police commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, praised the police who “played their part in confiscating the drugs before it reached the streets of the province”.

Recent drug busts point to expanding trafficking networks

Thursday’s seizure follows a string of recent high-value drug busts in the Western Cape.

In October, two alleged drug mules importing cocaine and another exporting khat, were arrested at Cape Town International Airport in separate operations while carrying contraband worth more than R2 million.

Acting on intelligence, authorities detained a man who had travelled from the Middle East and someone who was identified as the courier for the cocaine, which was valued at R2.2 million and was concealed in luggage.

READ | Man arrested after R18m cocaine, arms and ammunition found in Cape Town storage facility

In June, police uncovered a massive cache of firearms, ammunition and drugs in a storage unit in Cape Town’s city bowl.

There, cocaine worth R18 million and weapons valued in the millions were seized from the Roeland Street facility.

A 40-year-old man was arrested for allegedly dealing in drugs and possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

South Africa’s growing role in global cocaine markets

Crime expert Guy Lamb previously told News24 that while mandrax fuelled the local drug market, high-value narcotics such as cocaine and heroin often moved through South Africa en route to wealthier destinations.

Gangs, he said, played a pivotal role in both local distribution and the transportation of drugs across the country.

The ENACT Organised Crime Index for Africa, produced by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), found that the cocaine trade in southern Africa was expanding, with South Africa positioned at the centre of the illicit market.

The report described the country as “a key player in the global cocaine trade” and noted that South Africa had the highest rate of cocaine consumption in Africa.

What happens to confiscated drugs?

All seized narcotics undergo forensic analysis before being secured and sent to the police’s forensic laboratory.

“Upon finalising court cases, a disposal order will be made by the court that the drugs be forfeited to the state. The Criminal Procedure Act determines that no one should be in possession of such substances/drugs.

“The drugs will therefore be disposed of through destruction,” Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie previously told News24.