The Metro police, with assistance from their crime fighting sidekick K9 Xena, has made yet another successful drug bust and arrest.
The canine and her handlers pounced on a suspected drug courier in Gordon’s Bay earlier this week.
This is not the four-legged furry friend’s first Helderberg rodeo as she has also helped sniff out narcotics during a recent bust in Macassar (“Abandoned drugs seized in park raid,” DistrictMail, Thursday 25 February 2021).
The suspect, a 37-year-old man was arrested by officers on patrol in Sir Lowry’s Pass Road on Sunday (10 July), after they had noticed a suspicious-looking vehicle with dark-tinted windows. They flagged the vehicle down for a routine inspection and noticed the driver seemed nervous, and they indicated they wished to search the vehicle. K9 Xena gave a positive indication of the presence of drugs, and officers found what looked like an insect-spray canister, which was filled with 28 Mandrax tablets. They found a second canister on the driver himself containing 20 Mandrax tablets, two tik packets and just over R1 000 in cash.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Strand Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 31 August.
JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, commended the officers involved for playing an instrumental part in the successful arrest as well as K9 Xena.
“In recent years, criminals have had to become far more creative to avoid detection of narcotics and other illicit substances,” he said, “but as K9 Xena proved once more, very little gets past her and her fellow canines.
“Our K9 Unit has proven to be a very valuable resource in the fight against the drug trade. I also commend the officers involved for their part in this bust, but also other successes that stem from visible policing, and picking up on things that the average person likely wouldn’t even notice.”
The arrest of this suspect was just one of 166 made by Metro police officers this past week.
