Five people, including at least three Eswatini nationals, were arrested for drug-related offences in South Africa's Mpumalanga province on Wednesday, November 10, and Thursday, November 11, according to IOL reporting.
The arrests came out of Safer Festive Season Operations run by the South African Police Service in the Gert Sibande District, covering Mahamba, Standerton, Piet Retief and Chrissiesmeer. Police seized dagga, crystal meth, mandrax and CAT across six separate incidents.
Eswatini national arrested on the R543 near Mahamba
SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane said a 30-year-old Eswatini national was arrested along the R543 Road during routine patrols. Officers stopped the man, who was carrying a red bag, and searched it.
Inside they found rolls of dagga weighing about 2.2 kilograms. The dagga was confiscated and the man arrested. Police have not yet determined the estimated street value of the drugs.
The Mahamba crossing sits close to the Eswatini border, and the case will raise difficult questions about how South African routes are being used to move drugs through our region.
Suspect flees on the N2, abandons car and dagga
In a second incident, police conducting a stop-and-search operation on the N2 Road spotted a white sedan driving at high speed.
Ndubane said the driver lost control of the vehicle after noticing the police, resulting in two burst tyres. The suspect then fled on foot and evaded arrest, abandoning the car and five bags of dagga. Police seized the vehicle and the drugs and have launched a search for the suspect.
Two Eswatini nationals arrested near Chrissiesmeer
On Wednesday, November 11, police stopped and searched a Hyundai company truck on the N17 road near Ermelo, outside Chrissiesmeer. The truck was carrying two Eswatini nationals.
Officers discovered and seized 15 bags of dagga with an estimated street value of about R50 000.
Three arrests in Standerton
In Standerton, an intelligence-driven operation produced three drug-related arrests on Wednesday, November 11.
In the first, a 27-year-old male suspect was found with sachets of suspected crystal meth and suspected mandrax tablets, with an estimated street value of R5 200.
In the second, a 27-year-old Nigerian national was arrested for possession of and dealing in drugs. Police found him with suspected crystal meth, suspected mandrax tablets and dagga, with a combined estimated street value of about R45 000.
In a third Standerton incident, a 46-year-old Nigerian national was arrested after allegedly being found in possession of 17 sachets of suspected CAT and 11 sachets of suspected meth, with an estimated street value of R4 000.
Ndubane said all the suspects are expected to appear in various Magistrate's Courts soon on charges related to possession of and dealing in drugs.
A wider pattern of drug trafficking in South Africa
The Mpumalanga seizures form part of a broader pattern of drug enforcement across South Africa's provinces. In the Northern Cape, Dfa reported that five suspects aged between 22 and 41 were arrested at an Operation Shanela II roadblock in Hartswater on Friday, November 13, with dagga, mandrax and tik allegedly found in their vehicle. The Guardian covered the same arrests in the Northern Cape town.
On a far larger scale, EWN reported that police seized dagga and mandrax worth R1.5 million after intercepting a truck on the N1, finding 452 one-kilogram dagga bales and seven one-kilogram packs of mandrax. The driver abandoned the vehicle and the truck owner was instructed to report to Parys SAPS.
What the arrests mean for the region
For Eswatini, the involvement of our nationals in these cases is a matter of serious concern. The kingdom's good name should not be dragged through South African courtrooms by individuals who choose to break the laws of a neighbouring state.
At the same time, the facts should be kept in proportion. The majority of those arrested in these operations were foreign nationals from elsewhere, and the trafficking routes run through South African territory, under South African policing. The responsibility for dismantling these networks lies first with the South African authorities, whose roads and borders have allowed this trade to grow.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise, said the arrests should send a message that there is no space for drug dealers.