A foreign national, who was caught trying to smokkel mandrax pille worth nearly a million rand into the Mother City, has been released on R50 000 bail by the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court.
Henry Ugochukwu Muaghalu, 40, made his first appearance in court on Tuesday after being busted by the Hawks who swooped down on him on the N1 highway on Thursday night.
Spokesperson Zinzi Hani says Muaghalu was arrested after the Hawks South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau team based in Bellville, together with Crime Intelligence, received a tip-off about a vehicle on the N1.
“They confiscated drugs with an estimated street value of R800 000 and subsequently arrested a 40-year-old foreign national along the N1 highway,” she says.
“This comes after the team reacted to information about a vehicle which was en route to Cape Town suspected to be carrying consignment of drugs.
“The information was operationalised with a tactical deployment. They later pulled over the vehicle on the N1 near Goodwood prison.”
She says a search of the vehicle found 20 000 mandrax tablets in a tog bag.
“The team also seized the motor vehicle, a silver Toyota, allegedly used in the commission of crime.”
The case was postponed to 2 December for further investigations.
His arrest comes just weeks after the Hawks busted a trio from Johannesburg who were caught trying to smokkel cocaine worth R400m into Cape Town.
The massive haul saw Police Minister Bheki Cele attend the court proceedings as Ebrahim Kara, Mishack Ngobese and Elias Radebe appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court after they were caught with nearly 600kg of cocaine in a truck.
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