SOMERSET WEST – A 35-year-old woman travelling on a bus from KwaZulu-Natal to Cape Town was apprehended after police officers found 6 500 synthetic cathinone tablets in her luggage.

Off-duty Public Order Policing officers received information that drugs would be transported to Cape Town on a passenger bus on Thursday, 26 March.

They waited for the bus to arrive in Somerset West, where they identified her luggage and found the tablets. The woman was arrested on charges of dealing in drugs.

The tablets have an estimated street value of R520 000, police said.

Synthetic cathinone, a stimulant, is a category of drugs related to the khat plant.

The woman will appear in the Bellville Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 30 March.

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Man arrested with unlicensed firearm

In a separate incident, a 25-year-old man was arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition on Saturday morning, 28 March.

Police officers conducting crime prevention duties in Duinefontein Road, Manenberg, saw the suspect with a firearm in his hand. A chase ensued and the man was apprehended. In an effort to get rid of the evidence, he threw the 9mm pistol and ammunition onto the roof of a nearby house. It was recovered by police.

He will appear on charges of possessing an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in the Athlone Magistrates’ Court once formally charged.