State seizes R32m Durban property used as drug lab
The Durban High Court granted the order on Tuesday, following a police raid two years ago.
A multi-million rand commercial property in Durban that was being used as a clandestine drug laboratory has been seized by the state.
Durban drug lab bust leads to R32 million property forfeiture
The Durban High Court granted the order on Tuesday, following a police raid two years ago.
During the operation, officers found drug manufacturing equipment.
Suspected methaqualone powder and chemical substances were seized at the R32 million property.
Hawks, Asset Forfeiture Unit secure final court order
The matter was handed over to the Hawks, and the Asset Forfeiture Unit, working with the National Prosecuting Authority, secured the final forfeiture order.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks spokesperson Simphiwe Mhlongo says the property will now be auctioned, and the proceeds will be paid into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account.
" The building was under curatorship, so there are costs that are attached to that, and the municipality, in terms of water and light, is also owed by the same building. So the State will auction the building for R32 million or more, and then deduct the municipality's utilities, as well as the curator's cost,” says Mhlongo.
SIU freezes R76 million in assets linked to Eskom corruption probe
Meanwhile, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was granted an order to freeze more than R76 million worth of assets linked to businessman Siyabonga Nkosi, allegedly involved in corruption at Eskom.
The assets include 17 properties in Umhlanga and Zimbali in KZN, as well as in Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
There's also a fleet of top-of-the-range vehicles.
The SIU says its investigation revealed that, between 2021 and 2023, officials at the power utility’s Kusile and Matla Power stations approved inflated and irregular purchase orders for relays, equipment used to keep power stations running.
"Instead of delivering reliable service, Nkosi’s companies delivered invoices. Eskom officials signed off on contracts that priced relays at R50,000 each, when the market price was between R180 and R450. This manipulation resulted in a direct financial loss of R73,650,994.87 to Eskom,” says SIU spokesperson Selby Makgotho.
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