Popu strikes the fan in Meerensee

A DRUG dealer was caught red-handed selling drugs to children at the Meerensee skate park, a Cape Town woman was re-united with an expensive BWM card key, dagga dealers lost their stash and the illegal fish trade in prohibited species were uncovered.

This was the result of a massive stop-and-search exercise by Meerensee CPF, the Public Order Policing Unit (Popu) and Northern Region Protection Services (NRPS) on Thursday at the Meerensee business hub.

Led by Popu’s Warrant Officer Johan Swartz and NRPS’ Corrie Pretorius, police and civilians joined forces to disrupt illegal activities, confiscate contraband and round up suspects.

The operation led to the recovery of a large consignment of prohibited species of fish destined for the black market, large bags of dagga, pirated DVDs, drug paraphernalia and stolen property.

The first suspect, a homeless man from Port Elizabeth, was searched and found in possession of an expensive Tag Heuer watch, cheque and credit cards belonging to a Mr Loots, a brand new BMW car key, knives and a small amount of dagga.

According to Pretorius, the man said he has been living in the bushes since arriving from PE.

‘With the help of the BMW dealership, I was later able to trace the keys to a Cape Town woman. She was overjoyed with the find, as she has been missing the spare key for some time. She did not claim it from insurance because the replacement cost was R10 000.’

Search
Next, a search of the bushes surrounding the Meerensee post office led to the recovery of several bags of cannabis.

‘Drug dealers hide the bulk of their merchandise in bags, dispensing small amounts to clients as needed. If they are caught, they have a negligible amount on their person.

‘Though no arrests were made, the loss of stock hits them harder in the pocket than a small fine at court.’

But the catch of the day came when the operation swooped down on the skate park at Alkantstrand, disrupting a transaction between an alleged drug dealer and young children.

‘As we approached, we saw him selling dagga to the children, the eldest of which was 16.’

‘A search of his vehicle revealed dagga parcels, a drug crusher, cellphones, pirate DVDs, real-looking toy guns and a refrigerated compartment with numerous illegal species of fish en route to Durban.

The dealer’s companion, waiting at the vehicle, was also arrested when the content was revealed.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife District Conservation Manager, Frans Mthembu, seized the fish, which were counted and sorted according to species.

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