Hawks swoop on 'drug lords'

Three couples accused of operating a drugs lab on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast yesterday woke up to a surprise visit by the Hawk's asset forfeiture unit.

A restraining order in respect of R3.3-million of assets belonging to Mogendran Gounden, Nirusha Gounden, Dayanandan Gounden, Sarathabal Gounden, Monogran Govender and Dhavarani Govender was granted by the Durban High Court.

Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said the assets, including properties, vehicles and household items, would be restrained until the end of the trial, which is to begin today in the Durban Regional Court.

The six were arrested in 2010 after months of police surveillance. They were charged with dealing in drugs when police found a drugs lab and more than 185000 Mandrax tablets, 20000kg of base powder and 250 litres of chemicals on a farm in Tongaat, north of Durban.

Yesterday Mogendran Gounden allowed the curator access to both his houses in Springfield but told the Hawks that his Porsche had been written off in an accident three weeks ago.

His BMW was at a panel-beating shop, he said, as a result of another accident, and his two Mercedes-Benz cars had been rented out.

Gounden has two registered businesses but the Hawks are not convinced that his income was sufficient to fund his "lavish" lifestyle.

Ramaloko said the Hawks believed the properties and vehicles were obtained with proceeds from drug dealings.