Pretoria - The Tshwane Metro Police Department has continued to crack the whip on criminals, netting 11 Nigerian nationals with drugs worth R700 000 this week.
Officials from the Drugs Unit investigated two houses in Pretoria east where they found suspects aged between 30 and 50 who had stored the drugs.
Mayor Randall Williams, who launched the Tshwane Metro Police Department Bicycle Unit in Hatfield on Wednesday, commended the team.
Williams said he was proud that the suspects were found in one Garsfontein house in the process of packaging nyaope, a common street drug blamed for ruining the lives of young people and robbing them of their future.
The drugs recovered have an estimated street value of R680 000.
“Our Drug Unit members received a tip-off about drugs that were going to be delivered to Pierre van Ryneveld Road in Centurion. An operation was immediately initiated and during the stakeout a male suspect arrived to deliver the drugs. The officers arrested him on the spot,” said Williams.
He said the man then led the officers to two properties he owned.
“One in Pierre van Ryneveld, where drugs were found, and another in Garsfontein, where the officers found 10 more Nigerian nationals packaging the drugs.”
All suspects were being detained at the Garsfontein police station.
“I would like to thank our metro police officers for doing a brilliant job in protecting our communities and young people from drugs. It is important that we all work together to ensure that Tshwane does not become a capital city for nyaope and other substances,” said Williams.
Resident Aaron Tlale said: “I think this thing that people can have unexplainable assets while they do not have a formal job or business needs to be investigated, because that is how we can catch them.”
Another resident, Siphiwe Hlatshwayo, said: “Well done to our police. We hope they keep this going. These guys keep getting away with these crimes because they believe they can just bribe everyone, including the police and people in the courts.”
Pretoria News