Multi-million rand drug bust at Umbilo shipping depot

Five-hundred-and-thirty brick-shaped packages, wrapped in tape, were discovered at the Manuchar Depot on Sydney Road on Wednesday.  The drugs were hidden in bags, containing a chemical called bentonite - which is used to manufacture soap and detergents.

 

Workers, who were busy unpacking, noticed the suspicious parcel and called the police.

 

Hawks spokesperson Simphiwe Mhlongo says they're trying to find out where the cargo came from and who was it meant for.

 READ: Elderly woman among three 'kingpins' arrested in R254m KZN drug bust

"It is part of our investigation because it was in the depot, it was not in the ship or in the vessel. It was removed from the vessel by certain transport to the depot. So we are following that perpetrator to find out where was the vehicle coming from and where the container is destined to." 

 

In a separate matter, Mhlongo says they're ready for trial in a case involving three people - including a 75-year-old woman - accused of working in a drug lab. More than R250 million worth of drugs were confiscated during a bust on a farm in Harding, four years ago.

 

"They will re-appear in the same court on the 7th of March together with the other accomplices who were arrested during the discovery of that labarotry. We are confident that our investigation is finalised.”