Suspected dagga dealers held

The Hawks in the North West have arrested three people for allegedly dealing in drugs after they were found in possession of more than a million rand’s worth of marijuana, some of which was cultivated in a greenhouse near Brits.

The Hawks spokesperson in the province, Tlangelani Rikhotso, said the suspects, who are between the ages of 28 and 49, include an alleged dagga dealer who has been linked to many such cases in the past, and was even declared “an undesirable person in the country” at one stage.

She added that the greenhouse was discovered by authorities in Assen, more than 60km outside Brits.

According to Rikhotso, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation received information on the drug lab and a search warrant was issued as a result.

The directorate’s organised crime unit searched the property and found about “148 dagga plants, 24 bags containing processed dagga in an air-conditioned room and more processed dagga bags were found in the house and the ceiling”.

The three suspects will appear in the Brits Magistrate’s Court on Monday where they will each face charges of cultivating and dealing in dagga.

Earlier this month, the South African Police Service (Saps) issued a stern warning to the public, reminding them the Constitutional Court judgment handed down in September last year that stipulated that private cannabis consumption for persons above the age of 18 was legal, but dealing in cannabis would still get a person in trouble with the law.

Saps spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo said in a joint statement by the police and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority that “the effect of the judgment is that only an adult person, aged 18 years and older, may use, possess or cultivate cannabis in private for his or her personal consumption in private.

“The use, including smoking of cannabis in public or in the presence of children or in the presence of non-consenting adults, is not allowed.

“The use or possession of cannabis in private, other than by an adult for his or her personal consumption, is also not permitted.” – OFM News