Times Of Swaziland: OPERATION ‘FARU’ LEAVES 100 ARRESTED FOR DAGGA

OPERATION ‘FARU’ LEAVES 100 ARRESTED FOR DAGGA
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BY LINDELWA MALINGA on 11/08/2017 04:20:00


MBABANE – Close to 100 people were arrested in two days after they were found
in possession of dagga.
This figure was of people rounded up during operation ‘FARU’ which took
place all over the country where dagga with an estimated street value of E318
564 was confiscated.
The Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) Service, in collaboration with the Swaziland
Revenue Authority (SRA), Big Game Parks, Immigration Department, Swaziland
Electricity Company (SEC), Swaziland Water Services Corporation (SWSC) and The
Swaziland Post and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC), jointly conducted an
operation in all the four regions of the country from July 26 to 27, 2017.
A total of 530.941kg of dagga was seized from 99 different suspects and some of
them were fined E2 000 each by the magistrates courts they appeared before while
other matters are still pending before courts.
During the operation, a total of 1350 road traffic offences were also detected.
rounded
Also during the operation, a total of 70 illegal immigrants were rounded up by
the police, and most of them were convicted in different courts and are now
awaiting deportation to their various countries of origin.
Most of the illegal immigrants were from Asia and some from our African
continent.
“The objective of the operation was to curb all forms of criminality related
to trafficking in human beings and people smuggling, drug trafficking, motor
vehicle crimes, wild life crimes, theft of copper cable, smuggling of minerals
as well as illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons. This operation
also enhanced cooperation within the region, addressed priority crime,
prosecuted offenders and repatriated exhibits,” according to Superintendent
Khulani Mamba, the Chief Police Information and Communications Officer.
There were six cases of illegal possession of protected species reported during
the operation and five suspects were arrested and their cases are still
undergoing court processes.
appeared
In the two days, three pistols were seized from three suspects and one appeared
in the Manzini Magistratse court where he was given bail of E5 000, while the
other two are still awaiting trial.
SRA was able to impound a total of 21 motor vehicles, which were found to have
not paid custom duties, while four vehicles, which were suspected to be stolen,
were seized and their originality will be verified after the conclusion of a
forensic investigation.