3 MORE SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN THE R400 MILLION WORTH OF DRUGS BUST.
Police have arrested three additional suspects for their alleged links to the R400 Million worth of drugs uncovered on the N1 in Pretoria, on 02 June 2021. The suspects were arrested in Cape Town. The Hawks said in a statement that Rafiek Baderoen, 44, Rashied Baderoen, 48, and Michael Norman, 38, were arrested at a premises in Cape Town on 12 June after they were allegedly linked to the high-profile drug bust.
Earlier this month a bakkie that was towing a 12-foot ski boat wherein 800kg of compressed pure cocaine with an estimated street value of R400 million was found and a 39-year-old Niel Pieter Van Zyl was arrested.
The three men linked to van Zyl briefly appeared in the Strand Magistrate’s Court on Monday and were escorted to Pretoria under heavy police guard on Friday afternoon. They are expected to appear in court alongside 39-year-old Neil Pieter van Zyl who was arrested while towing the ski boat. The Hawks said the bust was made possible by the collaborative efforts of various crime-busting elite organisations that included FBI operation Trojan Shield and Australian Federal Police operation Ironsides, as well as the Hawks’ narcotics bureau.
Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said, “The drugs (cocaine) were reportedly destined for both the local and international markets organised by a drug syndicate operating in the country allegedly stockpiling a large quantity of cocaine in Gauteng.”
“The additional suspects were linked through further investigation into a drug consignment and warrants of arrest were executed by the Western Cape Hawks’ South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) team on Saturday 12 June 2021.“When the team arrived on their premises in Cape Town they found several people and arrested three suspects. Upon conducting a search the team seized several cell phones, documentation and passports belonging to the suspects, for further investigation.”
