Two suspects who recently appeared in the Stellenbosch Magistrate Court for the possession of drugs are currently out on bail. This comes after their arrest following a drug bust in Cloetesville.
This is according to Sgt Zenobia Sedeman of the Cloetesville South African Police Service (SAPS). “The case has been remanded until 7 July,” said Sedeman.
The Cloetesville South African Police Service (SAPS) building is located in Tennant Road, Stellenbosch. Cloetesville SAPS arrested two suspects and confiscated a plastic bag with an unknown value of metamfetamien, also known as ‘tik’, on the evening of 26 March. This is according to Sgt Zenobia Sedeman of Cloetesville SAPS. PHOTO: Micaleb Lawrence
Drug bust
The drug bust took place on 26 March after Cloetesville SAPS received a tip-off that a white Volkswagen Polo had entered the area with drugs, Sedeman told MatieMedia through email correspondence. A stop and search was then executed on the vehicle, she added.
Drugs, including one plastic bag of metamfetamien (or ‘tik’), were confiscated from the suspects, stated Sedeman, who added that the value of the drugs is unknown.
The drug bust and distribution of drugs speak to the larger drug issues which lead to other crimes such as theft and assault, explained Eon Hendriks, a Stellenbosch community leader to MatieMedia via WhatsApp.
Eon Hendrikse, a Stellenbosch community leader, spoke on the drug abuse problem prevalent in the community. Hendrikse urged leaders to put measurements in place to tackle the drug issue at hand. AUDIO: Eon Hendrikse via Whatsapp
A community joined together
Drug distribution in Cloetesville has been rife, some community members claimed.
“I’ve lived in Stellenbosch for 60 years and witnessed the changes when it comes to crime and drug use in the community over the years,” stated an anonymous source who has lived in both Cloetesville and Idas Valley.
The SAPS Community Police Unit (CPU) encourages the community to report crime but SAPS does not always respond on time to their calls, claimed the source. “By the time they arrive we no longer know where [the criminals] have gone. Then it’s just a waste of time,” the source added.
Another anonymous source who resides in Smartie Town, Cloetesville, emphasised that there is a pattern of drug distribution “right under [the community’s] noses”.
“This is one of our major drug busts and the information received from the community leads to this success [sic],” Sedeman said about the arrests.
“I’ve lived in Stellenbosch for 60 years and witnessed the changes when it comes to crime and drug use in the community over the years,” stated an anonymous source from Cloetesville. The source told MatieMedia that they want to regain the safety of the Cloetesville community. PHOTO: Micaleb Lawrence