E169 000 DAGGA SEIZED AT BORDER GATE

MBABANE – The State has seized a ‘bakery truck’ which was nabbed at Ngwenya Border Gate smuggling 195 parcels of dagga valued at E169 360.

The dagga which weighed 211.7 kilogrammes was hidden in a false compartment. Each of the parcels were wrapped in a brown duct tape and concealed in the specially designed compartment.
The back of the truck with South African registration plates is divided into two such that at face value when looking at the back you would think it is empty, yet there was dagga loaded in the other half in the far end.
A sheet metal was used to create the false compartment welded across the container dividing it into two.

Immigration reports retrieved by the police reflect that the truck made a lot of in and outs movements through the country’s border gates.
Investigations by the law enforcers further revealed that the truck was owned by an Asian businessman who resided in the Republic of South Africa.
 It is suspected that the businessman is working closely with dagga dealers in the Kingdom of Eswatini. The State contends that it had reasonable suspicions that the truck was designed and used as instrumentality to smuggle the habit-forming drug into the neighbouring countries.

The order to seize the Nissan Die truck was issued by Judge Mumcy Dlamini following an application that was filed ex-parte by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The application was filed on the strength of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) of 2018.

In motivating the application, Head of the Assets Forfeiture Unit Elsie Matsebula said relevant facts show that the truck was an instrumentality of an offence.
“I do humbly state that the truck has a bakery like container. As if that is not enough, a false compartment was erected inside the bakery-like container by diving it into two. At face value when looking at the back you would think the truck is empty,” submitted Matsebula.

She informed the court that when the truck was nabbed at Ngwenya Border Gate the false compartment was loaded with 195 dagga parcels carefully wrapped with brown cellotape.
Matsebula narrated that the dagga that was retrieved by the police from the false compartment weighed 211.7 kilogrammes.

She told the court that the driver of the truck, Sicelo Mayethi Dlamini, failed to produce a licence for possessing the unlawful drug when he was requested to produce one by the police.
“The driver of the truck was caught at Ngwenya Border Gate in a bid to smuggle dagga into the Republic of South Africa.  He failed to declare same at the Customs desk as required by the Customs Act,” submitted the principal Crown Counsel.
She asked the court to note that nothing else was contained in the truck except the dagga that was hidden in the false compartment.

Movements

“Information from the Immigration department shows that the truck makes a lot of in and out movements in the country’s borders. I therefore submit that there are reasonable grounds for believing that, the truck is an instrumentality of a scheduled offence, it being used to conceal dagga that is constantly being exported out of the country,” averred Matsebula.

She submitted that investigation was ongoing and evidence of further or different offences might come to light. Matsebula said this was so because the truck frequently visited the Kingdom of Eswatini. “I hasten to add that as per the Immigration records, one of the truck drivers, Adams Faud, is captured to have said the reason for coming to the Kingdom of Eswatini with the truck is for a holiday. Then one wonders how one decides to spend a five-day holiday with such a truck,” argued the principal Crown Counsel.

She said it was therefore clear that the truck was used as a conduit pipe in smuggling the dagga.
The court on the other hand also issued an order to seize a Toyota Voxy which was also found to be having a false compartment.

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