A 52-year-old parolee, Themba Mbatha, appeared at the Witbank Magistrate’s Court on 5 March 2020, on a charge of dealing in drugs. The appearance of Mbatha spirals from his arrest on Wednesday, 4 March 2020, by members of the Witbank Flying Squad on the N4 Highway, after being found in possession of mandrax drugs estimated to be worth 9 million rand.
All unfolded when police officers stopped a suspicious looking vehicle. Upon searching it, they found ten bags stashed in the boot and the driver was questioned about the contents thereof, which he admitted were mandrax drugs and he was transporting them to Gauteng from Mozambique.
During the process of investigation, it was further established that the suspect was a parolee. He was previously arrested in 1997 for various cases including, robbery aggravating (Cash-In-Transit), murder, two counts of attempted murder as well as possession of a firearm without a licence and ammunition for which he was sentenced to Life imprisonment by the Pretoria High Court.
Mbatha was then released on parole in 2018 and was due to finish his minimum sentence on 28 February 2021.
When he appeared before the court yesterday, Mbatha was remanded in custody and will appear again at the Witbank Magistrate’s Court on 12 March 2020. The HAWKS will investigate this matter further.
General Zuma has since welcomed the arrest and applauded the sterling work done by the police and also condemned the actions of the suspect. “It is really disappointing for someone who is given a second chance to mend his ways and change his life to revert back to a life of crime. I also in the same breath like to commend the sterling work of the police officers who arrested the suspect as this will ensure that we don’t have crime being committed by repeat offenders. Even though cross border crime remains a challenge in the province, the arrest of the suspect is an indication that we are on the right track”, said General Zuma.
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