Sandals solve prison drugs mystery

A PAIR of sandals has tripped up a criminal syndicate that smuggled cellphones, drugs and cash into prisons in the Western Cape.

Police this week arrested a security guard, a policeman and a shoemaker at the Magistrate's Court in Cape Town, solving a mystery of how prisoners kept getting drugs, money and phones after appearing in the magistrate's court and high court.

Some even smoked dagga on the drive back to jail.

Police staked out the magistrate's court when they noticed a security guard fetching a bag of dagga from a nearby car.

The guard, realising he had been seen, tried to evade the police by running into a shoe repair shop.

Police arrested him and the shoemaker. They confiscated a pair of sandals that contained a cellphone hidden in the sole of one shoe and drugs sewn into the sole of the other.

A backpack with contraband sewn into the lining was also found.

A constable working as an orderly at the magistrate's court was arrested on Thursday in connection with the scam.

Police are hunting for more suspects.

The three men cannot be named until they appear in the magistrate's court tomorrow.