logo
POLICE SEIZE DAGGA WORTH R7 MILLION IN MPUMALANGA

POLICE SEIZE DAGGA WORTH R7 MILLION IN MPUMALANGA

The South African20 hours ago

The police in Tonga confiscated dagga amounting to approximately R7 million in Sibange near Tonga, Mpumalanga, on Friday, 13 June 2025, following a high-speed chase with the Ehlanzeni District (Tonga Task Team).
The task team was conducting a stop and search operation in the Sibange area when they stopped a grey VW Polo.
However, the driver refused to stop, prompting a chase that went on for 10 kilometres.
After the long chase, the suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot.
Police recovered more than 20 compressed bags of dagga and confiscated the vehicle.
'The suspect eventually abandoned the vehicle in the Khombaso area and fled into nearby bushes. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered 24 compressed bags of dagga, believed to be worth millions of rand,' read the police statement.
The SAPS urged anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts to contact the SAPS Crime Stop number 08600 10111 or to submit tip-offs via the MYSAPS App.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Northern Cape, through Operation Vala Umgodi, has arrested eight suspects in connection with drugs.
The eight suspects, aged between 24 and 49, were arrested during a multi-disciplinary, intelligence-driven operation conducted in the Frances Baard District.
Operational teams discovered a significant quantity of abandoned dagga at the Beefmaster illegal mining site.
The first five male suspects were arrested at a construction site in Rhodesdene for breaking the South African Immigration Laws after it was discovered that they had entered the country illegally.
Furthermore, two more suspects were arrested in an informal settlement near Tlhageng, Galeshewe, for drug dealing.
Police seized drugs, including methamphetamine (commonly known as Tik) and Mandrax tablets during the arrest.
Lastly, a 31-year-old male suspect was apprehended in De Beershoogte, Barkly West, after also being found with suspected Tik and Mandrax tablets.
The drugs were seized as evidence.
The suspects are expected to appear before the Kimberley and Barkly West Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday, 17 June 2025.
The police encouraged citizens to report any criminal activity anonymously on via the MySAPS App or by contacting the Crime Stop hotline on 08600 10111.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Advocacy groups demand more from government to fight GBV scourge in SA
Advocacy groups demand more from government to fight GBV scourge in SA

IOL News

time3 hours ago

  • IOL News

Advocacy groups demand more from government to fight GBV scourge in SA

Advocacy groups believe stronger action needs to be taken to end GBV. Image: File As South Africa commemorates Youth Month, the terror of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) looms large over the country as countless women and children fall victim to unthinkable crimes on a daily basis. The government has made noise around this scourge; yet, the number of murders, rape and kidnapping cases continues to rise. Women's rights advocacy groups and activists have continued to call for the government to step up and protect all of its citizens. Siyabulela Monakali, the communications manager for Ilitha Labantu, a non-profit organisation founded in 1989 in Gugulethu, in the Western Cape said that the government has failed in addressing GBVF. "Despite declaring GBVF a national crisis and rolling out progressive legal frameworks, the harsh reality tells a very different story. Between January and March 2025 alone, 966 women and 314 children were murdered. These are not mere statistics; they represent lives lost amid a system that too often fails to protect the most vulnerable," said Monakali. Chronic underfunding of programmes, inadequate enforcement of existing laws, a lack of political will, and an overburdened legal system have retraumatised survivors and made justice elusive according to Monakali. A peaceful protest held Vhembe District, Limpopo Province to bring attention to GBV matters Image: SAPS Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ "The government's response remains reactive rather than proactive, marked by bursts of noise, marches, and declarations that quickly fade into short-term memory, only for new tragedies to emerge," he added. "Many of the government's interventions are mere band-aids, failing to confront the deeper, systemic issues of misogyny, toxic masculinity, and entrenched gender inequality that fuel GBVF. Until there is meaningful, coordinated, and well-resourced action that tackles these root causes, the crisis will continue unabated." Monakali went on to say that the legal system also fails women and children despite the presence of regulatory frameworks to fight GBVF. So, the country finds itself in a paradoxical scenario where the high prevalence rate of GBVF remains with a consistently low conviction rate. For Women For Change, the government's failure of addressing GBVF is due to not prioritising the issue. The organisation created a petition for the government to declare GBVF a national disaster. "Government's bureaucracy and their lack of accountability, transparency, and responsiveness to the scourge of GBVF is one of the key reasons why more women will be killed in this country," said the advocacy group. "We urge the State that the Constitution places an obligation on them to respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights and we expect the State to act decisively and with intent to eradicate GBVF." Woman For Change highlighted that South Africa's Constitution provides many protections against GBVF. These include the right to equality (section 9), which encompasses equality before the law and equal protection and benefit under the law for everyone, as well as the prohibition of unjust discrimination by the State and people on a variety of grounds, including gender. Section 10 of the Constitution provides the right to human dignity, whilst Section 11 ensures the right to life. Importantly, Section 12 of the Constitution provides the right to personal liberty and security, which includes the right of everyone to be free from all types of physical violence. "Despite progressive developments, incidences of GBVF in South Africa remain extremely high due to the failures in the criminal justice system. To protect the dignity and freedom of women and children, government departments can no longer fail to prioritise GBVF policies and programmes to eradicate GBVF." Activist Mukhethwa Dzhugudzha expressed similar belief to the groups, claiming that the government only steps in after a woman has been raped or murdered. "We need to shift to preventative measures," he added. "Young women and children are still unsafe because the government focuses on punishment rather than protection. Until we address root causes of GBVF such as economic dependency, policing and victim blaming, we will continue to fail the people we claim to protect." "The rise in the country's violent cases against women is an indictment on all of us that our society is exposed to GBVF, sexual violence, murder and assault in such alarming numbers. "We need to redouble our efforts in ensuring the effective implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF which provides a useful pathway out of this crisis," added Bafana Khumalo of Sonke Gender Justice. The advocacy group said it maintains zero tolerance on all forms of violence against women and girls and joins the globe to raise awareness on the scourge of violence and calls for substantive actions by leaders to end these crimes.

Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu's crime-fighting efforts: Recruit 5 500 new police officers
Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu's crime-fighting efforts: Recruit 5 500 new police officers

The Citizen

time6 hours ago

  • The Citizen

Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu's crime-fighting efforts: Recruit 5 500 new police officers

The Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu and National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola outlined crime-fighting efforts on June 13 in Pretoria. The briefing was to outline effective strategies and plans that were being continuously implemented to boost and improve the morale of dedicated and hardworking members. Read more: Norwood CPF commends police station for fourth quarter crime stats Mchunu noted that in the past week, 13 915 suspects were arrested for various crimes including 190 for rape and 2 041 for the possession of drugs. 'Ninety-nine illegal firearms and 82 hijacked vehicles were seized and confiscated. These are some of the successes achieved through Operation Shanela every week.' 5 500 new police officers to join the ranks At the end of June 2025, SAPS will be advertising for the recruitment of 5 500 police trainees to join its ranks. Their training will commence between January and February 2026. The age limit to join the police is 35 years, in line with the National Youth Policy. For the first time in the history of the police, SAPS is introducing an online electronic recruitment system, which will allow aspiring applicants to apply online. The introduction of this online electronic recruitment system aims to avoid allegations that manual applications are being lost and misplaced in the recruitment process. Applicants are reminded to note that joining SAPS is free; no one should ask an applicant to pay any fee to secure a place in the training programme. There are currently 5 500 police trainees at various SAPS academies nationwide. Capacitation and filling of vacant posts SAPS has been hard at work in ensuring that it increases its footprint and brings services closer to the communities it serves. In the past five years, it has built 31 police stations across the country. These include Bolobedu Police Station in Limpopo, Qhasa in the Eastern Cape and Tafelsig in the Western Cape. In terms of capacitation, through Project 10 000, the police service increased its numbers on the ground. In the past three years, 30 393 more boots were added on the ground. Also read: SAPS release fourth quarter crime stats, as well as battle plans These newly trained police officers have been deployed to various police stations and detective units; the Public Order Police (POP) unit to enhance crowd management capacity and capabilities; and the Forensic Science Laboratories to increase the processing of forensic evidence that will ultimately assist in convicting perpetrators of crime. SAPS have decided to introduce the detective investigator scarce skills allowance as an extra incentive. This extra incentive is over and above the increase in the service allowance that SAPS operational members are currently receiving. Crime Intelligence In the crime intelligence environment, 300 more operatives are currently undergoing the necessary training, and upon conclusion of their work exposure training, they will be deployed to the various provinces to enhance the police's intelligence capacity. Forensic Science Laboratory An additional 675 Forensic Science Laboratory analysts and crime scene experts are busy with their workplace training at the station level. At the end of this period, they will also be deployed to the Local Criminal Record Centres (LCRC) to boost crime scene management expertise with the aim of expediting evidence collected at crime scenes. Others will also be deployed to capacitate forensic labs. Public Order Police Unit SAPS has also trained and deployed 5 000 public order police members in the past two years to enhance and capacitate crowd control management capabilities across the country. 10111 Call Centres From the newly trained police officers, 575 call centre operators have been trained and deployed to serve as call takers at the police's 10111 call centres across the country. This has assisted the service in ensuring a rapid response to crime-related emergencies. Station Commanders To ensure increased productivity and service delivery at the station level, SAPS has filled 150 station commanders' positions at various police stations. These include stations in the four provinces that experience high crime levels, such as Gauteng, Western and Eastern Cape and KZN. SAPS has also introduced a mandatory station commanders' induction course over and above the station management learning programme for all newly appointed station commanders. Scarce skills allowance for high-risk units As a way of retaining skills and talent within SAPS' high-risk environments, it is introducing a scarce skills allowance for the National Intervention Unit (NIU). The NIU is a unit within the SAPS that responds mainly to high-risk incidents such as cash-in-transit armed robberies and ATM bombings. SAPS will be increasing the scarce skills allowance for the Counter Assault Team (CAT). CAT members also respond to high-risk operations and situations. Last year, the management of SAPS aligned the ranks of the Special Task Force (STF) unit to the entry-level of Warrant Officer rank and also increased their scarce skills allowance as a retention strategy. Scarce skills for other environments Among other environments that will receive a scarce skills allowance are the following: Hostage negotiators SAPS divers Airborne Law Enforcement Officers Coastal skippers Vessel handlers who are responsible for conducting inspections on vessels that come into the country at the country's seaports Resources SAPS currently have a fleet of more than 43 000 vehicles in all nine provinces. A budget has been set aside to procure more vehicles for provinces with a focus on the operational environments. The priority will go to police stations and units to enhance police visibility and police response. SAPS is also focusing on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its garages to improve and enhance the turnaround time of repairs and servicing of its vehicles. More artisans and mechanics are being employed at these garages. Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We'd love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts! Related article: Tips to avoid becoming a victim of crime At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

Operation Shanela nets 151 suspects
Operation Shanela nets 151 suspects

The Citizen

time7 hours ago

  • The Citizen

Operation Shanela nets 151 suspects

SEDIBENG. – A powerful, coordinated police operation delivered significant results in the fight against crime. Police spokesperson Sergeant Thembeka Maxambela said Operation Shanela 2, conducted on May 29 in Heidelberg and Ratanda under the Sedibeng District, resulted in multiple arrests, numerous traffic fines, and the recovery of illicit goods. She added that this major effort follows a pre-Shanela detective operation conducted from May 28 to 29, where 147 cases were attended to, resulting in 123 arrests across various crime categories, including serious contact crimes and gender-based violence (GBV). * Total cases attended: 147 * Total arrests: 123 Heidelberg SAPS successes: Seven arrests for unlicensed firearm, theft, and shoplifting Traffic Fines Issued: 68 Total Value: R82 950 Common Offences: Driving without a license, expired license discs, PRDP violations, defective windscreens, and overloading. The combined effect of the pre-Shanela detective operation and Operation Shanela 2 resulted in 151 arrests. 'The results of this operation are a clear signal to criminals: Sedibeng is not a safe haven. We remain relentless in our pursuit of law and order. We applaud the coordinated efforts of our SAPS units, traffic officials, wardens, and community partners.' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store