Police operations in the Winterton and Bergville region in KwaZulu-Natal have resulted in 11 arrests and the confiscation of dagga worth almost R500,000 and an illegal firearm and ammunition, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Saturday.
Mounted officers from Ntabamhlophe, Estcourt, and Pietermaritzburg embarked on an operation in Hlathikhulu, Kwasikhonyane, and on the R600 road in the Winterton and Bergville area on Thursday, spokesman Captain Nqobile Gwala said.
During the operations, 11 people were arrested for various offences, including possession of dagga and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. A total of 12 bags of dagga, 1.84kg of loose dagga, and a 12 gauge shotgun and ammunition were confiscated from the suspects. The total value of the recovered dagga was R472,500.
“The recovered firearm will be taken [for] ballistic testing to ascertain if it was used in the commission of [any] crime in the country.”
Those arrested were aged between 20 and 35, and appeared briefly in the Estcourt and Weenen Magistrate’s Courts on Friday, Gwala said.
KwaZulu-Natal acting Provincial Commissioner Maj-Gen Bhekinkosi Langa praised the team for their dedication to ridding the community of drugs.
“The recovered drugs were intended to be sold to our youth who abuse them, but with the intervention of the police this was prevented. We are urging the community members to be involved in the fight against drugs by providing valuable information to the police,” he said.
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