A suspected drug peddler has been nabbed in Port Elizabeth with 26‚000 mandrax tablets worth over R1.5-million.

“It is alleged that on Sunday‚ at about 5am‚ Provincial Organised Crime Investigation Unit‚ Crime Intelligence and SAPS Kabega Park members swooped on a house in Begonia Street in Linton Grange‚ Port Elizabeth.

“Acting on information received‚ a search warrant was obtained and the house was searched. A total of 26‚000 mandrax tablets was found in a suitcase and in 2 sports bags in a flat let joining the house. A 49-year-old man was arrested and detained on a charge of dealing in drugs. The estimated street value of the drugs is R1‚ 560‚000‚” Colonel Priscilla Naidu said.

She said the suspect would appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga applauded the arrest of the suspect. Ntshinga emphasised that “arresting these peddlers is important but we cannot overlook the even greater need to arrest and shut down the manufacturers and suppliers”.

“We‚ the SAPS will continue in our endeavours to cripple the drug trade that is destroying the lives of innocent young people.”