“The effects include wakefulness, hyperexcitability and suppressed hunger.
“In SA the plant is regarded as a drug since cathinone, which is extracted from it, is listed in the Drug Act.”
According to the police provincial commissioner, Bloemfontein K9 unit members received information about the truck at about 6.30pm on Monday.
Members set up observation posts and at 10.30pm the truck was spotted travelling southbound on the N1 outside Bloemfontein.
The truck was stopped and the driver was instructed to open the cargo area for a search to be conducted.
According to police, in the trailer members found boxes containing possible khat plants and leaves with an estimated street value of R300,000.
The 44-year-old driver could not provide police with sufficient information and was arrested. Members confiscated the truck.
The driver was arrested for dealing in drugs and will appear in the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court soon.
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Truck with khat worth R300,000 bust by dog unit
Image: SAPS
A truck destined for Cape Town was intercepted in the Free State after it was found to contain around R300,000 worth of khat plants and leaves.
Khat, or catha edulis, contains the stimulant alkaloid cathinone.
According to the SA National Biodiversity Institute, the leaves can be brewed for a tea or chewed to release the “habit-forming” stimulant.
Image: SAPS
“The effects include wakefulness, hyperexcitability and suppressed hunger.
“In SA the plant is regarded as a drug since cathinone, which is extracted from it, is listed in the Drug Act.”
According to the police provincial commissioner, Bloemfontein K9 unit members received information about the truck at about 6.30pm on Monday.
Members set up observation posts and at 10.30pm the truck was spotted travelling southbound on the N1 outside Bloemfontein.
The truck was stopped and the driver was instructed to open the cargo area for a search to be conducted.
According to police, in the trailer members found boxes containing possible khat plants and leaves with an estimated street value of R300,000.
The 44-year-old driver could not provide police with sufficient information and was arrested. Members confiscated the truck.
The driver was arrested for dealing in drugs and will appear in the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court soon.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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