Cape Town - A Parklands man will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court today charged with dealing in drugs.

His lawyer said the man was able to pay R50 000 in bail.

He was arrested on April 28 for the possession of tik worth more than R3 million.

As part of formal bail proceedings the satellite technician said he fled from his home country in 2012, under threat of “Boko Haram”, and sought refugee status.

He said he came to South Africa, where he, a university graduate, could find work only in clubs and hotels.

The man said because of the lack of employment opportunities created by Covid-19, he started installing satellite television systems.

He was arrested after an investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crimes (Hawks).

Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said: “A 32-year-old foreign national was on Friday, April 28, 2023 arrested by the Table View South African Police Service (SAPS) members, whereafter members of the Hawks were immediately notified of the arrest and called to the scene.”

After a routine patrol and vehicle checks, SAPS identified the driver of the vehicle as the person who abandoned narcotics in one of the hotels on April 26.

“On April 26, 2023, the very same members received a call at approximately 11am from one of the hotels in Table View informing them about a suspicious person who lodged in one of the hotel rooms,” Hani said.

It is alleged the members entered and raided the room, where they discovered 13 containers (13kg) filled with crystal methamphetamine (tik) to the value of more than R3.2m.

“Through intelligence, the man was then identified, which later led to his arrest on Friday, April 28,” Hani said.

During bail proceedings the man said he was at the mercy of the court’s jurisdiction with regards to whether he could be released on bail, and intended to plead “not guilty” if the matter went to trial.

The State will today make submissions in opposition to his release. A further order was made to protect the identity of the State witness, defence counsel, and the identity of the accused.

rafieka.williams@inl.co.za

Cape Argus