An alert team of traffic officers and police have been praised for their actions which led to the arrest of five people suspected of dealing in dagga.
An alert team of traffic officers and police have been praised for their actions which led to the arrest of five people suspected of dealing in dagga.
The five suspects, aged between 31 and 56, were arrested at a road block outside the Fort Brown police station, near Grahamstown, on Tuesday. A white VW Polo with four occupants was stopped, and a traffic officer reportedly overheard one of the occupants speaking on a cellphone saying “you must not come through.”
A blue Isuzu bakkie was then observed pulling over to the side of the road, and after standing there briefly, it made a u turn and drove back towards Fort Beaufort. The traffic officer alerted two police officers who gave chase but were initially unable to trace the vehicle.
On their way back to the police station, however, they noticed a man standing by the roadside and stopped to question him. Their suspicions were confirmed when he was unable to give a good account of why he was there, and a search of the area revealed the abandoned bakkie which was found to contain 27 bags of dagga with an estimated street value of R500 000.
Grahamstown Police Cluster Commander, Brigadier Vakala Moyake, praised warrant officers C Menze and Sgt MM Hoza of Fort Brown and Traffic Officers Boniswa Tana, Veliswa Marasi, Zoliswa Kalipi and Thembakazi Taleni for their outstanding work. “The four female traffic officers and members of Fort Brown, who were standing off at a vehicle check point certainly deserve to be praised for their alertness, and quick action,” said Moyake.
