Two arrested with drugs worth over N$5 million near Ariamsvlei

Two men, aged 48 and 43, are expected to appear in the Karasburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday after they were allegedly found in possession of drugs worth over N$5 million near Ariamsvlei.

Police crime investigations coordinator for the //Kharas region deputy commissioner Nicodemus Mbango on Friday said the two men, a Tanzanian national and an Eswatini national, were arrested on Thursday around 23h20 between the Ariamsvlei Borderpost and Nakop Borderpost of South Africa.

“The operation team was busy conducting random patrols between the two borders and saw five persons with five big bags who seemed suspicious as they were hiding behind the bushes. Officers reacted immediately by jumping off the moving vehicle to apprehend them as they fled the scene, leaving the big bags behind,” said Mbango.

The commissioner added that the three men who fled were pursued until they entered South Africa and could not be arrested.

“They were chased down and managed to apprehend two suspects, bringing them back to the five big bags to establish the contents. Upon opening the bags, parcels containing cannabis were discovered inside the five big bags,” he said.

The big bags contained 114 plastic parcels of cannabis weighing 117 398 grams valued at N$5 869 900.

The men are charged with dealing in prohibited dependency-producing substances.

Mbango said there is a possibility that immigration charges will be added to the drug charges as one of the suspects did not have a travel document, while the other suspect had a travel document but never stamped at the Nakop Borderpost.

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