In an ongoing operation by the Hawkes – Durban Serious Organized Crime Investigation – have arrested a seventh suspect for dealing in the trade of cannabis. The woman, Marrissa Lee Robertson, 26, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday and was released on five thousand Rand bail. Robertson will appear in court on June 25 with her co-accused.
Last month, a multi-agency task team comprising the Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Port Shepstone and Richards bay Serious Organised Crime Investigation, the Provincial Priority Crime Management Centre, the Provincial Digital Forensic Investigation and the National Intervention Unit arrested six suspects, aged from 33 to 59, for dealing in cannabis. The operation was a culmination of the long-term Project “Da Culture”, which commenced in 2021 and involved undercover agents buying cannabis from targeted outlets. This evidence was then used to obtain warrants of arrest and search warrants. On February 12, the suspects were arrested and charged with dealing in cannabis. The operation also resulted in the seizure of a significant quantity of cannabis and related items with an estimated street value of R379 170.
This investigation was a thorough one and showed the effectiveness of powers being delegated between the levels of national, provincial and local Crime Investigation units. The cooperation of these investigation units has helped to expose the intricateness of the drug trade in the eThekwini region. This investigation has brought two among the accused in the drug trade to the book. The operation that took place also shows that those involved in the sale of illegal and addictive drugs on the black market are becoming more careless of the police closing in on them. The long-term Project known as “Da Culture” is a simple routine and the oldest trick in the book that could lead to the mass arrest of unsuspecting and un-weary drug dealers across Kwa-Zulu Natal and even the country.
Meanwhile a 29-year-old Durban man has been sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Durban Regional Court for public violence during the July unrest in 2021. This was when the Covid pandemic was at its height.
Nhlanhla Mkhize entered a plea bargain with the state and pleaded guilty to breaking into the premises of several businesses in High Flats on July 12, 2021, in Durban and thereafter looting the businesses. According to the state, Mkhize was among the crowd of approximately 100 people that broke into the High Flat premises. State prosecutor Surekha Marimuthu said when Mkhize committed the offence he was working as a security guard earning R7,500 per month. She added that Mkhize had no previous convictions for any criminal offence. “The accused has a murder conviction which is unrelated to this crime,” she said. In aggravation of sentence, Marimuthu argued that Mkhize participated in violent acts that led to destruction of property, injury, or harm to others. “The July 2021 riots were amongst the most violent in our country’s history,” she added.
The looting and riots that occurred during July have had its role in altering the dynamics of the province and the country as a whole. It is true nothing like this post 1994 had been experienced. The behaviour during this period in 2021 was unacceptable and could have placed over a thousand at risk of contracting Covid 19. Some of the rioters could have easily contracted the disease at the time. The behaviour of over a hundred people in looting the shops of others, magnified by the thousands of rioters who did the same to other businesses is still being accounted for. The fact that this happened in reaction to President Jacob Zuma’s hearing (which he did not attend) and conviction raises disgust. The trials of those being convicted for the looting and riots from four years ago are still ongoing.
This is due to the number of people involved in the riots. However, the riots can also be attributed to frustration with the government’s Covid 19 policy. The only hope is to draw lessons from these events.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
