Two drug dealers sentenced in R400m Cape Town cocaine bust
Image: Hawks
Two men who were part of a group arrested in Cape Town for possession of cocaine worth more than R400m have entered into plea and sentencing agreements with the state.
The Khayelitsha priority court sentenced Meshack Mzungezi Ngobese, 48, and Elias Radebe, 43, on Friday. They were arrested in August 2022.
Lt-Col Siyabulela Vukubi, spokesperson for the Hawks, said Ngobese was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, four of which were suspended for five years.
Radebe was handed a three-year sentence, two of which were suspended for four years.
“The sentencing comes after the Hawks' narcotics enforcement bureau team, working with crime intelligence's counter-narcotics and gangs team, followed up information in August 2022 regarding a truck that was possibly transporting drugs on the N1 highway heading towards Cape Town,” said Vukubi.
“The truck was spotted and monitored until the N1 City Mall where there was a suspicious exchange of the drivers. The truck was eventually halted at Jan Smuts drive in Pinelands where it was searched and 672 blocks of cocaine worth about R403m were seized.”
Vukubi said five suspects were arrested. One of the suspects, who is in custody, is waiting for the finalisation of his plea and sentencing agreement on Tuesday. The other two will be back in court on October 20.
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