Hawks bust drug syndicate in Eldorado Park, Potch

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Pretoria - The Hawks have arrested seven people that are suspected to be a syndicate that manufactures and distributes drugs in Eldorado Park and Ikageng in Potchefstroom.

Five of the suspects were arrested Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, on Monday morning, while two were arrested in Potchefstroom.

“The suspects, six men and one woman, were nabbed during an early morning raid in the two townships. The Hawks have been monitoring the dealings of the seven suspects for a while and transactions worth over R350 000 have been validated,” Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Robert Netshiunda said on Tuesday.

One of the suspects is out on parole for another drug-related case. During the raid, mandrax worth R6 000 was confiscated.

The suspects, aged between 19 and 50, will appear before the Eldorado Park and Potchefstroom Magistrate’s Courts today on charges of dealing in drugs.

Eldorado Park residents have been complaining for years about drug dealers. This prompted government, led by President Jacob Zuma, to visit the area to listen to their concerns. Response teams were deployed in the area to root out dealers and reduce drug related crimes.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old woman travelling on a Norwegian-issued passport, has been remanded in custody after appearing in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court for dealing in drugs.

The woman, Najmo Abokar Ibrahim, was arrested on Friday as she was about to board a Zurich-bound flight after she was found in possession of 17kg of Khat. Her case has been postponed to 22 April 2016 for further investigation.

She is the second person to have been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport this month.

Her arrest follows that of British national Graeme John Richards, 50, who was arrested by members of the Border Policing Unit of the SAPS after he was found in possession of Cat weighing 26kg. - SAnews.gov.za