Two men plead guilty before the Witbank Magistrates Court, to selling crystallized cocaine.
The two men, Mr David Douglas van der Westhuizen and Mr Innocent Manqoba Masilela, were arrested by police in December 2015 and charged with dealing in drugs.
A police informant, who made purchases from the dealers, assisted in the successful arrest and prosecution of the two men.
In their court appearance on September 26 the two men opted to plea before court. Van der Westhuizen plead to four counts of dealing in drugs while Masilela plead to only one count of dealing in drugs.
“The state withdraws their case against accused number two,” said Ms Ansie Venter, prosecution from the organised crime section of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (Nelspruit).
Van der Westhuizen faces four charges of dealing in drugs in 2015, namely dealing in 5.31g of crystallized cocaine (40 pieces) to the value of R2 000 on March 12, 8.19g (50 pieces) to the value of R2 500 on March 18, 67.33g (201 pieces) to the value of R10 000 on May 28, and 89.2g (one tennis ball sized rock) to the value of R10 000 on May 29.
Masilela accompanied van der Westhuizen on May 29 2015 and assisted him in making the deal.
Masilela’s guilty plea statement reads ‘On the said date I was assisting accused one in selling the rock, I was however not in possession of the monies used in the transaction.”
“I plea guilty to dealing in drugs and I am aware that dealing in drugs is illegal. I sold to a friend on four occasions,” read Van der Westhuizen’s guilty plea statement.
He had not realised that the friend he was selling to was in fact the police informant.
After the two men had pleaded guilty to their charges it was decided that the matter would not be finalised on the day.
“We will refer to high court authority for a suitable sentence from the state and defence so that the sentence may be fair and just in accordance with the crime’s committed,” said Magistrate Ernst du Plooy
. Magistrate Du Plooy then requested from the state and defence a suitable sentence be put forward come the following court date of October 16.
ALSO READ:
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/100328/man-arrested-possession-drugs-cbd/
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/98816/cbd-gateway-drugs/
