Mandrax worth more than R1.5m seized in Durban drug bust

Police found drugs worth R1.5 million in a parked car.

Police found drugs worth R1.5 million in a parked car.
PHOTO: Supplied/SAPS
  • Drugs worth more than R1.5 million have been confiscated in Durban.
  • The drugs were found in a parked car, and no arrests were made.
  • Police also confiscated several firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.

Drugs with a street value of more than R1.5 million have been seized in a Durban bust. Police also confiscated several firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.

On Tuesday, Hawks officers followed up on a tip-off about a car containing drugs and firearms in Berea Centre, said Hawks spokesperson, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo.

READ | Man arrested in R4m drug bust near Western Cape town

The vehicle was parked on the side of the road, with no one inside.

“A search was conducted, and police found two bags containing 30 000 mandrax tablets with a street value of approximately R1.5 million. Six firearms, one stun grenade, and 106 rounds of ammunition were also found in the vehicle,” said Mhlongo.

Bags of mandrax tablets seized in a drug bust

Drugs worth more than R1.5 million have been seized in Durban.
Supplied
Several firearms and ammunition seized during drug bust

Police also confiscated several firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.
Supplied
Bags of mandrax tablets seized in a drug bust

Drugs worth more than R1.5 million have been seized in Durban.
Supplied
Several firearms and ammunition seized during drug bust

Police also confiscated several firearms and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.
Supplied

The seized firearms will be sent for ballistic testing to ascertain if they had been used in any crimes.

“No arrest has been made at this stage, and the investigation continues,” said Mhlongo.

Last year, police made a bust of similar proportions in Beaufort West in the Western Cape when a consignment of about 270 000 mandrax tablets was intercepted. The drugs were bound for Cape Town, from Gauteng.

News24 previously reported that police believed the intelligence-driven operation was considered large enough to break the back of an interprovincial drug syndicate, which had been supplying mandrax to dealers in the Western Cape.