A 17-year-old teenager is expected to appear in the Mahwelereng Magistrate's Court on Monday, after he was arrested by the Limpopo highway patrol unit for possession of an assortment of illicit drugs, and money, police said.
Provincial spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the teenager was apprehended on Saturday, at Mahwelereng outside Mokopane.
“It is reported that the police team comprising the provincial highway patrol unit and the Mahwelereng visible policing unit, during their tour of crime prevention operational duties, spotted a male suspect in possession of 60 packets of cross dagga, which is a mixture of nyaope and dagga worth R1,650,” Ledwaba said.
The teenager was also found with 12 pieces of rock drugs, valued at R2,200.
“It was also discovered that he is in possession of a cash amount of R3,450 in Mahwelereng Zone 1 on Saturday 12 August 2023,” said Ledwaba.
The boy has been charged for unlawful possession and dealing in illicit drugs.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the arrest of the teenager.
Hadebe has also saluted the joint law enforcement team members for removing the illicit drugs from the streets.
“These drugs are busy destroying the future of the people especially the young ones. Together with the community, we will continue to uproot them,” she said.
Last month, the Limpopo department of health welcomed the arrest of a data-capturer attached to the Bela Bela Clinic for allegedly selling antiretroviral (ARV) medication to an alleged drug dealer.
The government employee was arrested after police officers found him with boxes of ARVs which he was trying to sell “to an undocumented foreign national of Nigerian descent”, according to Thilivhali Muavha, spokesperson for the Limpopo department of health.
“The department views this arrest as a breakthrough against rogue elements in the department, which cause shortages of medication, which affect community members badly.
Muavha said there is suspicion that the stolen ARVs would be used to manufacture illicit drugs.
“Considering that illegal foreign nationals are also eligible to receive any form of medication in our facilities, we can only believe that perhaps these pills were being used to manufacture illegal drug substances which are a huge challenge to the youth of Bela Bela,” Muavha said at the time.
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