On Saturday 6 February 2021 at approximately 07:45, members of the Grahamstown Highway Patrol stopped a Silver Sedan travelling on the N2 towards the direction of King William’s Town, with three male occupants. The driver immediately got out of his vehicle and came towards the SAPS vehicle, the members instructed him to go back to his vehicle and he started to flee followed by one of the passengers into a nearby dense. The third occupant also attempted to flee but was arrested and restrained by the officers. A search of the area was conducted for the suspects with no positive results.
On searching the vehicle, the following items were seized: diving suit, oxygen cylinders, several bags containing abalone valued at nearly R70 000,00. A male in his 20’s was taken into custody. The rental vehicle which they were using was also seized.
In the early hours of this morning members of the Port Alfred K9 Unit were patrolling the R72 when a vehicle travelling towards the direction of East London passed the team at a high speed. The members turned around and started to chase the vehicle and managed to pull the vehicle over a few kilometres outside Port Alfred.
During a search of the vehicle, the officer recovered a bag containing 14 000 Boss Mandrax tablets valued at R840 000,00. Three male suspects aged 24, 33, 35 were arrested.
All suspects will appear in the respective magistrates’ court early next week.
Acting District Commissioner for the Sarah Baartman District Brigadier John Lebok praised the members for their vigilance and issued this warning to offenders. “We are aware that criminals will use every tactic to transport illegal items. All our major routes in the District are being constantly monitored and our patrols have been intensified. Criminals beware we have our eyes on you,” he firmly added.

Source: South African Police Service