Suspect held over R1.2m drug bust

Cape Town – Police arrested a 32-year-old man in Elsies River on the Cape Flats at the weekend after he was found in possession of drugs with an estimated street value of R1.2 million.

According to police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi, Flying Squad had been following up on a tip about a truck hijacking when they made the unexpected discovery.

The man will appear in the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court on drug-related charges, Swartbooi said.

Meanwhile, police said that high-density patrols in crime-ridden areas yielded excellent results, with the arrest of 277 suspects for various crimes and the confiscation of illicit drugs, liquor, stolen property as well as an unlicensed firearm in the Garden Route District during the past week.

“These crime combating operations commenced on Monday, 08 May 2023 until this morning. It included targeted operations at drug outlets and liquor outlets as well as stop and searches in line with the crime pattern analysis.

“The focused operations dealt the illicit drug trade a heavy blow with the arrest of 93 suspects for possession of drugs and eight for dealing in drugs. Most arrests were effected in Conville where police arrested 13 suspects followed by Knysna with 11 arrests,” police spokesperson Sergeant Christopher Spies said on Sunday.