A 35-year-old man has appeared in the magistrate’s court in George in the Western Cape after allegedly being found in possession of dagga with an estimated street value of about R1.4-million after crashing his car while trying to flee from police.
The dagga weighed 824kg and was contained in 25 bags.
Hawks spokesman Captain Philani Nkwalase said Ntsikelelo Ngindana had been arrested on the N2‚ near Rademachers and Garden Route Mall‚ during a disruptive operation carried out by a multi-disciplinary team that had included the Hawks‚ Crime Intelligence Oudtshoorn and Eden Cluster police.
“Ngindana was additionally charged for reckless and negligence driving as he tried to evade being arrested by speeding off after police signalled for him to stop. His vehicle was forced to stop after it was involved in an accident‚” Nkwalase said.
The matter was remanded to the May 3 for further investigation and Ngindana remains in custody.
In a separate and unrelated incident‚ Musawenkosi Mndaweni‚ 33‚ was found guilty of theft by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court and sentenced to fine of R5‚000 or five months’ imprisonment for stealing a bank card from a victim.
He was also sentenced to a further 24 months’ imprisonment wholly suspended for three years with stringent conditions.
“Mndaweni was arrested at a petrol station near the airport in December 2017‚ soon after the Hawks ATM Task Team members swiftly acted on information about a victim who was approached by the suspects that distracted him and stole his bank card.
“The operation resulted in the recovery of deposit slips and R3,940 in cash after 300 Australian dollars were withdrawn from the victim’s account‚” Nkwalase said.
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