Mandrax tablets worth over R4.3 million have been confiscated in two separate busts on the N2 highway in South Africa’s Western Cape
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested two men travelling in separate vehicles heading to Cape Town from Gauteng.
The first vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz matching the description of the tip off which the police received was sighted on the N2 near Grabouw, while en route to Cape Town.
“A joint police team pulled the vehicle over and conducted a search that resulted in the discovery of 24 packets of Mandrax totalling 24,000 capsules, worth about R840,000 on the black market. The drugs were found hidden behind the back seat in a false compartment,” the police said in a statement.
A 35-year-old suspect was arrested and the vehicle along with the drugs were confiscated for further investigation.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Grabouw Magistrate’s Court on January 3.
Meanwhile, upon searching the second car spotted on the N2 in Heidelberg, police found 100,000 Mandrax in 100 packets hidden in a makeshift compartment under the vehicle.
A 52-year-old suspect was arrested, and the drugs and vehicle impounded. The suspect is due to appear in the Heidelberg Magistrate’s Court on January 3.
Acting provincial head of the Hawks in the Western Cape, Brigadier Mushavhaduvha Ramovha, applauded the joint police team for their collaborative efforts.
“I also want to plead with the community to always act positively against wrongdoing by reporting all criminality to the police for investigation, so that we can act timeously and catch the perpetrators,” he said.
Mandrax is a highly addictive drug which slows down the central Nervous System and has a sedative effect. Although Mandrax is not as profitable as heroin or meth, it remains a lucrative trade for South African organised crime networks.