Man arrested after R18m cocaine, arms and ammunition found in Cape Town storage facility
A 40-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a massive stash of drugs, firearms and ammunition found in a storage facility in Cape Town.
Fifteen bricks of cocaine worth an estimated R18 million were found, as well as one AK47 rifle, an Uzi, five 9mm pistols and an assortment of ammunition.
The man was arrested for allegedly dealing in drugs and the unlawful possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Police have arrested a 40-year-old man in connection with a cache of arms, ammunition and drugs found in a storage unit in the heart of Cape Town's city bowl.
Cocaine and weapons worth millions of rand were found at the storage facility in Roeland Street.
Officers from the Anti-Gang Unit, Crime Intelligence, and provincial organised crime detectives arrested the man for allegedly dealing in drugs and the unlawful possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said: 'They conducted a search of the unit upon which they discovered 15 bricks of cocaine of about 15 kilograms (1kg each) with an estimated street value of R18 million as well as one AK47 rifle, an Uzi, five 9mm pistols and an assortment of ammunition.'
The man is scheduled to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.
Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile said: 'SAPS remains resolute to eradicate drug abuse and the prevalence of firearms which poses a threat to the safety of communities in the Western Cape.'
Earlier this year, Western Cape police confiscated mandrax tablets worth more than R5.5 million in two busts over three days.
Anti-Gang Unit officers uncovered R4 million worth of mandrax at a 'stronghold of one of the major gangs' in Mitchells Plain. In a separate incident days later, police searched a car on the N1 highway and found a consignment of mandrax tablets valued at around R1.5 million.
At the time, Patekile said the prevalence of drugs in the Western Cape was 'problematic' and was linked to gang activity. He said there was a link between the drug trade, illegal firearms and gangsterism.
Crime expert Guy Lamb previously told News24 that while mandrax was often circulated on the local market, other drugs - such as cocaine and heroin - often moved through the country, destined for other, wealthier markets.
Gangs play a key role in both the arrival of drugs into the local market, the sale of those drugs, as well as the transportation of drugs through the country to other markets, he said.
The ENACT Organised Crime Index for Africa, produced by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), found that the cocaine trade in southern Africa was growing, and South Africa was at the heart of the illicit market.
The global crime index's report described South Africa as 'a key player in the global cocaine trade'.
South Africa also has the highest prevalence of cocaine consumption in Africa, the report found.
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