POLITICAL parties in KwaZulu-Natal have praised the police following a major drug bust in the leafy suburb of Kloof last week.
Acting on a tip-off, the police discovered drugs worth approximately R2 billion, one of the biggest drug busts in the recent past. According to police reports, one South African and two Chinese nationals were arrested and appeared in court.
“We commend the police for their good work. What they did is very encouraging and it brings hope that we will overcome the fight against drug dealing in South Africa. It is indeed a good story to tell. We hope that our police will continue doing a great job in making sure that we raise our kids in a drugs free society,” said the ANC’s Sihle Zikalala.
He said the ruling party has noted with great concern that it seems the drug dealers now operate in leafy suburbs as one of their desperate attempts to avoid being caught.
“We are very concerned that in many major drug-related cases people who are found to be kingpins are foreign nationals,” said Zikalala.
The ANC cautioned all foreign nationals who would use South Africa as a hub to carry out their illegal operations.
“We threw our weight behind the police in their attempt to fight drug dealing in South Africa and we are very happy because they are indeed winning the battle,” concluded Zikalala.
The DA also welcomed the news of the drug bust.
“While the police deserve high praise for their stellar effort, we still have some reservations about the Department of Community Safety’s dedication to stopping the movement of drugs from across the province’s borders,” said Rishigen Viranna, member of the party’s provincial legislature.
In January, a parliamentary reply in response to questions posed by the DA last November revealed that the department was failing to accurately judge the true extent of the drug problem in KZN.
“It shows that heroin has become the drug of choice in the province. It is not produced in KZN but brought in across the province’s borders. The provincial department has no intervention plan to tackle this,” said Viranna.
The reply also showed that many perpetrators were getting away with these serious crimes. While 95 arrests were made against drug peddlers, following the netting of drugs worth R19 million between April 2012 and April 2013, only 41 received prison sentences while the majority only paid admission of guilt fines.
“The fact remains that one of the main reasons for the celebration of this bust is because it is widely known in our communities and young people are being terrorised by drug dealers on a daily basis and there have been very few arrests in the recent past. The department must now fully dedicate itself to eradicate drugs in this province,” said Viranna.
