A 47-year-old Soshanguve man has been arrested for possession of dagga worth nearly R1 million.
Police spokesperson Constable Zanele Mtsweni said the man cultivated the dagga in yards of two RDP houses in Soshanguve extension 1.
“He was arrested on Tuesday,” he said.
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“Police were conducting a festive season crime combating operation when they responded to an anonymous tip-off.
“They uncovered a hidden dagga plantation and arrested a man allegedly responsible for it.”
The dagga was hidden in a crop of maize.
“We urge members of the community to join the SAPS in the fight against crime,” said Mtsweni.
Mtsweni said the man told the police he grew the marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“It was later discovered he sells it to community members as he had small match boxes which are used to package the marijuana.”
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Police spent some time uprooting all the trees that had grown to close to a metre tall.
“The suspect has been charged with dealing in and possession of dagga and will appear in the Soshanguve court soon.”
Earlier this month, a 53-year-old man was arrested for allegedly being in the possession of dagga with a street value of more than R20 000.
The man was arrested in Majaneng, Hammanskraal, on 4 December after 10kg of dagga was found in his house.
Police spokesperson Constable Herman Moremi said the man told police he had been advised by medical students to plant the dagga to use together with moringa herb for healing.
He claimed to have forgotten their names.
Police believed the man sold the dagga at R10 000 a bag.
Police records revealed that the man was previously arrested at Babelegi industrial area last year also for possession of dagga, but was later released.
Mtsweni said the Soshanguve K9 unit had sent out a strong message to dagga dealers with the arrest of a dagga dealer recently at block H.
“The unit received information that a man was dealing in dagga in the area,” she said.
The police swooped on the suspect’s home for a search.
Over 5.35kg of compressed dagga was found.
“The man alleged the dagga was transported to him from Swaziland. He was subsequently arrested and charged with dealing in marijuana.”
She said a charge of bribery had been added after the man tried to bribe the police with an undisclosed amount.
Mtsweni said the police would intensify the fight against crime to ensure that residents were safe during the festive holidays.
She said the SAPS partnered by the metro police would also keep an eye on speeding and other traffic violations with a view to drastically reduce the carnage on the roads around this holiday period.
She said the operational focus areas would include stop and search, roadblocks and vehicle checks, operations to prevent business, house, cash-in-transit robberies, hijackings, illegal trade in and abuse of liquor.
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