Drug dealer nabbed in Mpumalanga... again
A 40-year-old Nigerian national from Bethal, Mpumalanga, has been arrested for allegedly dealing in drugs. His arrest comes as a result of a joint operation between Secunda Crime Intelligence, the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation and the Secunda K9 unit.
'The suspect is currently out on bail on a separate but similar offence of dealing in drugs. He was arrested alongside side 11 other suspects in Bethal in a Hawks Operation 'Dream on', in June 2021', said MP Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Magonseni Nkosi.
According to Nkosi, the suspect was out on bail under strict conditions. He said the suspect brazenly ignored the conditions. Hawks received intelligence that the suspect was continuing to deal in drugs. After receiving the information, the Hawks pounced on the suspect.
Nkosi said the team proceeded to the suspect's residential place where they found him with a 34-year-old companion. The companion did not have any legal documentation granting them permission to be in South Africa. Additionally they found drugs in the house, according to Nkosi.
He said, 'The suspect was found in possession of seven plastic bags of substances believed to be crystal meth, two plastic bags of substances believed to be Khat as well as close to R10 000 in cash'
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in Mpumalanga, Major General Nico Gerber, has vowed that a thorough investigation will be conducted.
'We are not only interested in getting drugs off the streets but our main focus is on the origin of drugs. Once we deal with manufacturers, we will have achieved our mission of rooting out drug related activities in the province,' concluded the General.
Both suspects will be appearing tomorrow, 19 May 2025, before Bethal Magistrate's Court. They will be appearing on charges of dealing in drugs and Contravention of the Immigration Act.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
18 hours ago
- IOL News
Ex-Walter Sisulu councillors guilty in RDP scam, ordered to repay R80K
Two ex-councillors from Walter Sisulu Municipality have been sentenced for defrauding a woman of R150,000 in a fake RDP housing scam. Both have been ordered to repay R80,000 by August 2025. Image: Nokuthula Mbatha/Independent Newspapers Two former councillors of the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape have been found guilty of defrauding a woman of over R150,000 in a bogus Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing deal. Mokhoabane Spetla Moahlodi, 63, and Mxolisi Mdumisa,44, were arrested in 2018 by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks). The two had promised the victim an RDP house in April 2017 in exchange for payment, which she duly deposited into their account. However, the promised house was never delivered. After several court appearances, the pair were sentenced to five years' imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on the condition that they repay R80,000. Each was ordered to repay R40,000 immediately, with the remaining balance to be settled by August 6, 2025. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major-General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, commended the investigation team and issued a stern warning: 'Fraud, theft, and corruption by municipal officials will be dealt with relentlessly.' Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel IOL News
The South African
21 hours ago
- The South African
Shamila Batohi 'in hot water' over infiltration claims at NPA
ActionSA has called for the immediate removal of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Shamila Batohi over 'prosecutorial failures'. The call comes as Batohi, the outgoing National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), admitted this week that there is political interference in the work of the NPA and that it has been infiltrated. Apart from that, the NPA has been in the spotlight for prosecutorial failures in major cases, especially the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso and the extradition of former Free State Premier Ace Magashule's assistant Moroadi Cholota. In an interview with Newzroom Afrika , Batohi said the NPA has been infiltrated and captured by people who do not have the rule of law at heart. Batohi said they are having internal challenges; some prosecutors may not be aligned with the vision of really fighting for the rule of law in this country. However, she refused to divulge who had captured the institution, how it was captured, and the extent of the interference. Regarding failure to extradite the Gupta brothers, fugitive pastor Shepherd Bushiri, and possibly Timothy Omotoso, Shamila Batohi said none of the extradition challenges in these cases are because of the NPA. ActionSA has since demanded a full parliamentary inquiry into the NPA's ongoing prosecutorial failures and the extent to which political interference has affected its operations. The party said the NPA has once again exposed its deep dysfunction, either through incompetence or wilful neglect, with the latest disgrace being the collapse of the asbestos corruption case involving former Free State Premier, Ace Magashule, due to the unlawful and irregular handling of the extradition of his former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota. 'This is not an isolated blunder, but part of a disturbing and entrenched pattern. The NPA has become a refuge for the politically connected, a place where accountability is avoided, justice is delayed, and prosecutions collapse with shocking regularity,' ActionSA leader in Parliament, Atholl Trollip, said. 'Under Shamila Batohi's leadership, the NPA reels from one scandal to the next. South Africans are left wondering if these failures are merely a result of incompetence or if there is a deliberate agenda to protect the corrupt. Let us be clear that this is not just about one failed case. 'The pattern is undeniable. From the Phala Phala saga to the collapse of high-profile cases like Timothy Omotoso, Shepherd Bushiri, and the Estina Dairy Project, the list of prosecutorial disasters grows longer by the day. Most damning is the NPA's failure to secure the extradition of the Gupta brothers, nearly a decade after the Gupta Leaks shook the nation,' Trollip added. Following Batohi's interviews, the EFF said it has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, demanding a debate on Batohi's claims. The party said the crisis at the NPA is not only one of infiltration, it is one of denial, incompetence and weak leadership. 'No transformation of the criminal justice system will be possible if its leadership refuses to acknowledge its own failures while hiding behind platitudes of institutional rebuilding. 'It is clear that Batohi has never had a coherent plan, no control over her institution, and no political will to confront the forces undermining the rule of law in South Africa. Her tenure has been marked by delays, deflections, deterioration, and disappointment,' the EFF said. 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.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Shamila Batohi faces pressure to clarify NPA interference claims
National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi is under fire following a string of recent high-profile failures by the National Prosecuting Authority. Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers Outgoing National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi is facing mounting pressure to provide details of her claims that there is political interference in the work of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). In an interview this week, Batohi had said: 'The NPA has been infiltrated by people who do not have the rule of law at heart. 'We are having internal challenges; some prosecutors may not be aligned with the vision of really fighting for the rule of law in this country.' Calls for Batohi to be summoned to Parliament to provide explanations follow a difficult period for the NPA during which the authority has bungled a number of high-profile cases. The latest was the Free State High Court declaring the extradition of former Free State premier and ex-ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule's personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, from the US unlawful as it did not have a valid and lawful request by the Justice Ministry. As a result of Judge Phillip Loubser's ruling, Cholota cannot face trial in the controversial R255 million tender to audit and replace asbestos roofs in the province alongside her former boss and several other individuals and companies. The NPA plans to appeal against the judgment. Another recent prominent case that intensified pressure on Batohi, who is reportedly due to retire when she turns 65 in January, was the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso of multiple charges of rape, human trafficking, and racketeering in April. On Friday, the EFF wrote to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and Xola Nqola, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, demanding an urgent parliamentary debate on Batohi's allegations of infiltration in the NPA. Additionally, the EFF wants the portfolio committee to schedule an urgent meeting and was not calling for punitive or reactionary action. 'This is not a casual institutional complaint. It is a constitutional red flag of the highest order. An assertion from the NDPP herself that the NPA has been infiltrated should send shockwaves throughout every organ of state,' the party said. The EFF warned that the assertions have direct consequences for the rule of law, the integrity of South Africa's criminal justice system, the fight against corruption and gender-based violence, and public trust in the country's democracy. The urgent meeting should be held on Tuesday, June 10, and also requested Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi to be invited to attend, provide policy-level responses and inform the committee of the department's position and possible interventions on the matter, according to the EFF. It requested Didiza to exercise her authority under the National Assembly's rules to approve an urgent debate on 'the implications of the NDPP's public statement regarding infiltration of the NPA and the threat it poses to South Africa's justice system, rule of law, and constitutional democracy'. ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said the party was alarmed and called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove Batohi immediately. He said the NPA has failed to prosecute Ramaphosa for not declaring foreign currency stolen at his Phala Phala farm in 2020, which was later stolen, fugitive self-proclaimed Malawian prophet Shepherd Bushiri, and secure the extradition of the fugitive Gupta brothers, among others. 'The NPA has become a refuge for politically connected individuals, a place where accountability is avoided, justice is delayed, and prosecutions collapse with shocking regularity. Under Batohi's leadership, the NPA reels from one scandal to the next,' added Trollip. ActionSA will write to Kubayi demanding urgent intervention and the commencement of a process to remove Batohi in terms of the NPA Act. [email protected]
