Cops destroy cocaine, heroin, Mandrax and dagga worth R800m

Police in Johannesburg on Thursday destroyed R800m worth of drugs confiscated during day-to-day operations across the country.

The drugs included cocaine, heroin, Mandrax and dagga.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said this was the third drug destruction process of the financial year. The previous operation  was in Cape Town in September in which 1.7  tonnes of drugs to the value of R170m were  destroyed.

Mathe said in the 2022/2023 financial year, 20.8 tonnes of drugs with a street value of R2bn were destroyed. 

SAPS national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola, who presided over the destruction of the drugs, said through the organisation's high-density operations, police were making inroads in clamping down on the drug trade in the country and beyond. 

He said it was encouraging that, to date, 15,400 suspects had been arrested for being in possession of drugs through Operation Shanela.

Another 7,000 were arrested for dealing in drugs.

“The recent drug confiscation of R150m  of cocaine in KwaZulu-Natal illustrates the co-operation between law enforcement agencies across the world in clamping down on transnational, organised crime. Indeed, our intelligence structures are hard at work putting a stop to the drug trade in the country and beyond. This is a clear demonstration that all stakeholders involved in border security are working together to tighten the control measures regarding cargo entering and departing our country,” said Masemola.

Mathe said the drugs destroyed on Thursday were linked to a number of high-profile cases.

This included the Maydon Wharf case in which more than a tonne of cocaine worth R400m was seized.

“That bust happened in August 2022 when Ebrahim Kara, Elias Radebe and Meshack Ngobese were arrested in Cape Town after a truck transporting more than 600 blocks of cocaine was stopped by police and the drugs were discovered hidden beneath false wooden boards,” Mathe said.

She said the matter was finalised and Kara was handed an eight-year sentence while Radebe and Ngobese got one-year and six years' imprisonment respectively.

Another case was the 1.3 tonnes of illegal pharmaceutical drugs/medicines in the form of tablets and capsules, such as non-registered Viagra, were confiscated in operations throughout the country.

“All drugs confiscated by SAPS during operations are subjected to regular forensic testing by the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory.

“The drugs that were destroyed today followed a thorough process including a court order confirming the finalisation of cases.

“It is also worth noting that all drug exhibit materials that were destroyed had been audited to ensure compliance to the set standard,” she said.

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