Heroin worth millions seized
Heroin dealers in South Africa have been dealt a heavy blow with 90kg of the drug being seized in two operations a few days apart.
The latest bust, on Wednesday night at Alzu Petroport on the N4, saw police with the help of community members, clamp down on 38kg heroin, concealed in a built-in compartment in the back of a vehicle.
A suspicious Toyota Hilux single cab was spotted between Carolina and Wonderfontein and followed to the rest stop on the highway where it was pulled over.
The vehicle was taken to the Middelburg Police and searched. A loose rubber cover that slides into the body was discovered on the back of the bakkie. 38 packs of heroin were found in a hidden compartment beneath the cover. The driver, Eliot Donovan (33) from Milnerton in the Western Cape, who claims that he was working in Mozambique, was arrested and charged with dealing in drugs. He has appeared in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Wednesday).
Police are currently investigating a possible link between the Middelburg bust and a similar bust in Chrissiesmeer on Sunday night.
Mozambican national Ibraimo Candeiro (42) was arrested after 52kg heroin was found hidden in the fuel tank and spare tyre of the Toyota Prado he was driving. He has since appeared in the Ermelo Magistrates Court.
If suspicions are correct, both consignments were destined for Johannesburg, where most of it will end up as a key substance in Nyaope before it will be redistributed.
The combined value of the heroin seized is estimated to have a street value of R90 million.
Heroin is derived from opium which is predominantly produced in Southeast Asia and Latin America. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan is the world’s largest opium supplier with almost 80% of the global market share.
Studies have also determined a symbiotic relationship between drug-traffickers and armed rebel forces in areas where Papaver somniferum, or the opium poppy, is grown. Drug traffickers provide rebels with revenue and weapons whilst insurgents provide armed protection to growers and traffickers from government forces.
The trail of destruction left behind by heroin, can be seen by simply looking at scruffy youths begging at street corners in Middelburg. Heroin addiction reduces ordinary citizens into leaches who rely on petty crime and handouts from others to sustain their habits.
In March, the body of a young man, Edmund Doubell, was discovered in a toilet cubicle in the Middelburg Mall. It was later determined that he died of a heroin overdose. Xander and Rynhard Meintjies suffered a similar fate. Several young people have become criminals with frequent visits to jail.
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