Cops have arrested a couple who allegedly sold dagga sweets to children.
Police have issued a warning about an increase in the sale of cannabis-infused sweets, aka edibles, to schoolkids following the R100 000 bust in Ottery on Friday morning.
Grassy Park station commander, Colonel Dawood Laing, says they raided two homes owned by the couple, aged 29 and 30, early on Friday morning, after a tip-off that they were selling the lekkers to pupils in the area.
Laing says: “This is a major problem in the precinct with many schools reporting that the children are reportedly high on drugs.
“This new trend sees the drug merchants running normal shops in the front of their homes and children can then purchase these drug-infused items and go completely undetected by their parents and teachers.”
Laing says oil is extracted from dagga pitte and then infused with syrup to make “gummy sweets and lollipops”, which are being sold for R15.
He warns: “The problem is it is unknown what other chemicals they are using and when you consider that other drugs such as heroin can easily be melted and added to the syrup, this could start generating a lethal addiction.”
Laing confirms that during the raid, cops found the couple in possession of a large stash of sweets, lollipops and biscuits laced with dagga, saying: “We seized the entire stash worth over R100 000 and it shows how rich they are getting.
“They are even buying properties cash with the money they make by selling this to our children. Both suspects will be appearing on drug dealing charges at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday and it is time that the courts take these crimes seriously.”
Laing warns parents to be on the lookout, saying: “If you have a younger child, like a toddler, who picks up these gummies, the consequences could be deadly. What happens if that child ends up in hospital with a overdose?
“The parents would be investigated and they would be none the wiser because the child ate what they thought was just a sweet.”
Melvin Jonkers of the local Community Police Forum condemned the actions of the couple.
He says: “We commend the SAPS for their continued harassment of the perpetrators who sell these kind of products to our young people for profit and gain, at the same time destroying the lives and future of our young people.
“We condemn this and encourage the police to ensure that these perpetrators remain behind bars and are successfully prosecuted.”