Cape Town - A Ugandan national has been sentenced in the East London Regional Court on numerous charges of contravening the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
Johan Turyamureba, 25, was busted by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) for selling abortion pills to members of the community in East London.
According to provincial police spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela he was bust after a clandestine operation.
“The East London based Hawks’ South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau in an intelligence driven operation together with the East London Crime Intelligence Gathering arrested Turyamureba for allegations of selling Cytotec tablets to the members of the community in East London.
“Cytotec tablets are under Schedule 4 category under the Medicine and Related Substances Act which is only dealt, sold and distributed by registered medical practitioners or pharmacists,” she said.
Mgolodela said between August 17 and 27, during the operation officers managed to make three successful purchases of abortion pills.
She said on August 27, 26 pills worth R4 500 were confiscated and Turyamureba was immediately arrested at that time.
Turyamureba made his first court appearance on August 30 and was convicted after a series of appearances.
The court sentenced him to five years’ direct imprisonment or to pay a R50 000 fine.
The court ordered a further Turyamureba to a further five years’ suspended sentence.
In a separate incident, the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced a 40-year-old woman to three years’ direct imprisonment for theft.
In 2013, the woman fraudulently created suppliers’ transactions and unlawfully transferred an amount of R450 000 into her personal bank account while working for Meat 2 Oceans.
This after in January 2015, the court ordered the woman to three years’ imprisonment which was suspended on condition she paid back the money she had stolen from her employer.
In February, the court found the woman to be in contempt of court as she was not complying with her sentence conditions.
She was tracked down by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation to Pretoria where she was rearrested. The court immediately enforced the three years’ direct imprisonment sentence.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL