Hawks arrest six more drug syndicate suspects in connection to R1.5m mandrax bust of 2020

They were all remanded in custody and the case was postponed to May 16, 2022, for a formal bail application. Picture: SAPS

They were all remanded in custody and the case was postponed to May 16, 2022, for a formal bail application. Picture: SAPS

Published May 10, 2022

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Durban - The Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested six more suspects in connection to the R1.5 million mandrax bust from October 2020.

Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said that Hawks officers from Pietermaritzburg Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Crime Intelligence arrested six suspects, aged between 32 and 50, for dealing in drugs in the Pietermaritzburg area on Saturday.

Two of their accomplices, Zolile Zikalala, 42, and Katlego Phahlane, 26, were arrested after they were intercepted on the N3 near Hilton in Pietermaritzburg. They were found in possession of 30 000 mandrax tablets with a street value of approximately R1.5 million.

Zikalala and Phahlane are out on bail.

Two accomplices were arrested in 2020 on the N3 near Hilton with 30 000 mandrax tablets with a street value of approximately R1.5 million. Picture: SAPS

“Hawks members continued with an intensive investigation that led to the arrest of the six more suspects on the weekend. During the operation members seized four jaws of crack cocaine and R54 080 suspected to be proceeds of crime,” Mhlongo said.

He added that the six suspects appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Monday.

“They were all remanded in custody and the case was postponed to May 16, 2022, for a formal bail application,” Mhlongo said.

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