Hoedspruit police and Farm Watch seize dagga, cigarettes
Hoedspruit Farm Watch and community patrollers joined police in a three-day operation that ended in arrests for robbery, dagga dealing and illicit cigarettes.
HOEDSPRUIT – Police in Hoedspruit have taken an estimated R210 000 worth of dagga and illicit cigarettes out of circulation in just three days, and they did not do it alone.
Community partners back police
During Operation Shanela II, which ran from October 5 to 7, officers in the Hoedspruit policing area in the Mopani District worked alongside Hoedspruit Farm Watch and community patrollers on planned operations targeting crime in the area.
Street value runs into six figures
The biggest seizures were dagga with an estimated street value of R120 000 and 12 boxes holding about 600 cartons of illicit cigarettes, valued at about R90 000. One suspect was arrested for allegedly dealing in dagga and another for possession of illicit cigarettes.
Business robbery adds to the tally
Police also arrested four suspects in connection with a business robbery. Two firearms, one of them a pellet gun, were recovered, and two vehicles allegedly used to commit crimes were seized.
A shebeen was closed during the operation.
The suspects have appeared in their respective magistrate’s courts.
