A 54-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment for dealing in dagga by the Camperdown Magistrates’ Court in KZN.

Nkosinathi Dladla was arrested by the Pietermaritzburg K9 unit along Umlaza Road near Tala Valley in April 2020 after police received information about a truck that was transporting dagga.

“The said truck was spotted on the N3 highway and followed. Dladla was stopped, and a search was conducted. Upon searching the truck, police found 44 bags of dagga to the street value of approximately R2.5m.

“He was subsequently placed under arrest and charged accordingly. The case docket was allocated to the Hawks members from Pietermaritzburg Serious Organised Crime Investigation,” said Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo.

According to Mhlongo, Dladla appeared in court several times until he was convicted and sentenced in November 2021. He appealed the sentence and was released on R100 000 bail.

However, his appeal was dismissed last week, and he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.