Police made 25 arrests at a farm in the Drakenstein rural area of Paarl where they came across a cannabis harvesting and manufacturing operation Friday morning 22 April 2022. The arrest was led by a flying squad, who “reacted on on intelligence, to searches conducted on the premises” that resulted in the arrest
“Our pursuit to eradicate the lucrative drug market in this province led members of the of 25 suspects aged between 18 and 55 and the discovery and seizure of cannabis plants and a large quantity of prepared cannabis ready for the market. Due to the substantial quantities, the estimated value of the drugs is yet to be determined.” read the statement issued by Police
The public is not so happy with the arrests as they made mentions of police not chasing criminals who perform extreme criminal activities, such as rape, kidnapping and murder as they listed. During the previous Family meeting by the president to update the public on the latest Covid-19 updates, Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of the legalisation of farming cannabis and the issuing of licenses.
The arrest was discribed by the public as “unnecessary” in their eyes. They say such an arrest indicates that there’s no communication between the law and the President, along with ignorance from the police who know of the speech and the process of issuing licenses but still conduct searches and arrests. One user said if all the police present at the arrest were to all go and tackle other pendong investigations and kingpins, certain crimes such as kidnapping rape and murder would be lower in rate.
While the suspects are awaiting their court appearance scheduled for Monday in Paarl to face a charge of dealing in drugs, members of our Provincial Detectives are probing the circumstances surrounding the matter. More arrests could be made as our investigation unfolds.”
“The Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape police, Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile commended the units responsible for the operation and issued a stern warning to drug dealers that their illegal trade will remain high on our policing priority list.”
https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=39398
