Suspect held in R300m cocaine bust
A TWENTY-three year-old Dutchman is expected to appear in the Caledon Magistrate’s Court today after police made one of their biggest cocaine busts.
Late on Wednesday, police confirmed that they had confiscated 963kg of cocaine worth an estimated R500 million.
Later that amount was revised to R300m.
SAPS Villiersdorp station commander Chrisna Auret said the cocaine was believed to have been destined for the European export market.
The drugs had been transported in a truck and were going to be loaded onto a shipping container on a farm in the town, but before that could happen police pounced and discovered the haul.
Local ward councillor Nelus Lamprecht said he had only heard about the drug bust after it had happened when one of his constituents sent him a WhatsApp message.
According to several police sources, the 23-year-old, whose address is listed in the Netherlands, is known to police and was allegedly the truck driver.
Yesterday, the Directorate of Priority Crimes, the Hawks’, took over the investigation, and spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said investigators would go “deep” to probe the source of the cocaine.
He said the drugs resembled cement and it was only when police tested it that it was confirmed as cocaine.
“We are going to go deep into what has transpired.
“We know the owner of the farm.”
He said profiling of the suspect was very important and if need be Interpol would be roped in to assist the Hawks’ investigation.