{"id":269940,"date":"2025-10-17T16:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?p=269940"},"modified":"2025-10-17T16:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:21:09","slug":"somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A 29-year-old local police officer was arrested on drug-related charges at Somerset West Magistrate&#8217;s Court on Friday afternoon (17 October).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The suspect was apprehended on suspicion of possession of drugs after allegedly discarding what is believed to be narcotics in the court&#8217;s enclosed parking area on Caledon Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When <em>DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette<\/em> arrived at the scene just before 14:00, authorities including police and forensic experts had gathered where a package was discovered beneath a motor vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a reliable source, the officer was confronted and allegedly threw away the suspected drugs in an attempt to dispose of evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1159_22367.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Authorities immediately secured the scene, prioritising evidence collection and carefully examining the suspected narcotics. Photo: Jamey Gordon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The source revealed this was not the first drug discovery on the premises &#8211; previous finds of mandrax were recently made, though no one could be positively linked to the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sergeant Suzan Jantjies, spokesperson for Somerset West police, confirmed the arrest of the court orderly and stated the case would be investigated by the police&#8217;s anti-corruption unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>. This is a developing story. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-attachment-id=\"269945\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/img_1204\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 1300D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1760715094&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;290&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_1204\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-269945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1204-1320x880.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The 29-year-old court orderly was arrested and taken into custody. Photo: Jamey Gordon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates&#8217; Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":269948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"52","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"60","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"1","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"1","article_feature_type":"normal","article_main_image_caption":"Captain Charles Riffel at the scene where a court orderly was arrested on drug-related charges at Somerset West Magistrates' Court. Photo: Jamey Gordon","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"Local police officer arrested for drugs","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"ONLINE_JGarrest","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":["ONLINE_JGarrest_P1","ONLINE_JGarrest_P2","ONLINE_JGarrest_P3"],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[7911,91],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-269940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-crime","tag-top"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates&#039; Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates&#039; Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-17T14:13:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-17T14:21:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamey Gordon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamey Gordon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jamey Gordon\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bffb9ea0c19abccda9de4ce2c0f8c8c6\"},\"headline\":\"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-17T14:13:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-17T14:21:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":201,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/IMG_1000.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Crime\",\"Top\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/IMG_1000.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-17T14:13:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-17T14:21:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates' Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/IMG_1000.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/IMG_1000.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Captain Charles Riffel at the scene where a court orderly was arrested on drug-related charges at Somerset West Magistrates' Court. Photo: Jamey Gordon\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\",\"name\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/district-mail-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/district-mail-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/districtmail\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/district_mail\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/distrikspos\\\/\"],\"description\":\"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has been the heartbeat of the Helderberg for nine decades. DistrictMail was established as a newspaper in 1928, with the goal of keeping the communities it serves informed. Helderberg Gazette was founded in 1998, as a free title distributed to the same communities.\",\"email\":\"districtmail@novusmedia.com\",\"telephone\":\"+27218530211\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bffb9ea0c19abccda9de4ce2c0f8c8c6\",\"name\":\"Jamey Gordon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/69616b04a0ecc6dc5c7ee1fed31bf0ad13855a9f1dc1d50f3b6cc42b987a90ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/69616b04a0ecc6dc5c7ee1fed31bf0ad13855a9f1dc1d50f3b6cc42b987a90ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/69616b04a0ecc6dc5c7ee1fed31bf0ad13855a9f1dc1d50f3b6cc42b987a90ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jamey Gordon\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/author\\\/jamey-gordon\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette","description":"A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates' Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs","og_description":"A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates' Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/","og_site_name":"DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/","article_published_time":"2025-10-17T14:13:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-17T14:21:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jamey Gordon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@district_mail","twitter_site":"@district_mail","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jamey Gordon","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/"},"author":{"name":"Jamey Gordon","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/person\/bffb9ea0c19abccda9de4ce2c0f8c8c6"},"headline":"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs","datePublished":"2025-10-17T14:13:07+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-17T14:21:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/"},"wordCount":201,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg","keywords":["Crime","Top"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/","name":"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-17T14:13:07+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-17T14:21:09+00:00","description":"A 29-year-old court orderly was arrested at Somerset West Magistrates' Court on Friday 17 October after allegedly discarding suspected narcotics in the parking area when confronted, with the case now under investigation by the police anti-corruption unit.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Captain Charles Riffel at the scene where a court orderly was arrested on drug-related charges at Somerset West Magistrates' Court. Photo: Jamey Gordon"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-police-officer-arrested-for-drugs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Somerset West police officer arrested for drugs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/","name":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization","name":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/district-mail-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/district-mail-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/","https:\/\/x.com\/district_mail","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/distrikspos\/"],"description":"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has been the heartbeat of the Helderberg for nine decades. DistrictMail was established as a newspaper in 1928, with the goal of keeping the communities it serves informed. Helderberg Gazette was founded in 1998, as a free title distributed to the same communities.","email":"districtmail@novusmedia.com","telephone":"+27218530211","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/person\/bffb9ea0c19abccda9de4ce2c0f8c8c6","name":"Jamey Gordon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69616b04a0ecc6dc5c7ee1fed31bf0ad13855a9f1dc1d50f3b6cc42b987a90ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69616b04a0ecc6dc5c7ee1fed31bf0ad13855a9f1dc1d50f3b6cc42b987a90ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69616b04a0ecc6dc5c7ee1fed31bf0ad13855a9f1dc1d50f3b6cc42b987a90ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jamey Gordon"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/author\/jamey-gordon\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1000.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":301852,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/crime-in-brief-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":269940,"position":0},"title":"Crime in brief","author":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","date":"27 May 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Somerset West police arrested a 27-year-old after 103 Mandrax tablets were found hidden in a cupboard at a Carey Park residence on 22 May.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Police vehicle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/OJL45KF1-Copy_13874.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/OJL45KF1-Copy_13874.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/OJL45KF1-Copy_13874.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/OJL45KF1-Copy_13874.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/OJL45KF1-Copy_13874.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":268954,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ex-police-officer-arrested\/","url_meta":{"origin":269940,"position":1},"title":"Ex-police officer arrested for selling classified police documents","author":"Barend Williams","date":"24 September 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Former police constable Dillon Klaasen faces corruption charges after allegedly selling classified documents for R10 000 to a target.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/56ee1519d72f4ec6840289ef6502f44d.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/56ee1519d72f4ec6840289ef6502f44d.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/56ee1519d72f4ec6840289ef6502f44d.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/56ee1519d72f4ec6840289ef6502f44d.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"DistrictMail &amp;  Helderberg Gazette","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269940"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=269940"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=269940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}