Free State police officers arrested two men who were allegedly driving a bakkie full of dagga in Bloemfontein on Monday.
Provincial spokesperson, Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli, said the suspects, aged 23 and 25, were arrested during a highway patrol on the N1.
“While patrolling and conducting stop and search, Bloemfontein highway patrollers spotted a white Toyota Hilux bakkie with canopy with a GP registration heading towards Colesburg.
“Police followed the vehicle and managed to safely stop it near a farm still on the N1. Two males alighted from the bakkie to be searched and while searching and going through the vehicle, members found 12 compressed dagga packages sealed with brown cellotape worth an estimated R1.7 million,” said Kareli.
Kareli said the men have been charged with dealing in dagga, along with an additional charge of driving without a driver's license.
They are expected to appear in the Springfontein Magistrate court soon.
In a similar case last week, Eastern Cape police arrested two people after they were allegedly found in possession of dagga worth R800,000.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, said police were patrolling along the Tellebridge River, which separates South Africa from Lesotho, when they spotted a suspicious vehicle.
“On investigation, they approached the vehicle and found two males originally from Butterworth loading twelve bags of dagga.
“They immediately arrested the suspects and charged them for possession of dagga.”
They are expected to appear in court again on July 19.
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