A youth, 18, was arrested with more than 8 000 mandrax tablets during a raid at his Sydenham Heights apartment.
|||Durban - A youth, 18, was due to appear in court on Monday after he was arrested with more than 8 000 mandrax tablets during a midday raid at his Sydenham Heights B-Block apartment at the weekend.
The teenager faces charges of dealing in drugs.
Police said a well-known drug dealer known as the Candy Man, who lived in an adjacent block of flats, stored the mandrax tablets in the home.
He hid the drugs in a suitcase inside the apartment, police said.
The street value of the mandrax haul is estimated at R712 000. Tablets are sold on the streets for R80 each.
The KwaDukuza SAPS cluster task team, led by Brigadier Captain Hastibeer, staked out the block of flats for two days before swooping on the building with the assistance of the National Intervention Unit on Friday.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said they had a search warrant for the flat.
Zwane said the drugs would be sent for forensic analysis.
Police said the mandrax was branded CC and Boss, which were the most common mandrax tablets on the market.
Mandrax contains the highly addictive, contraband substances methaqualone and diphenhydramine.
Sydenham Community Policing Forum spokesman Satish Dhupelia said the quantity of drugs recovered was indicative of the extent of the drug problem that residents of Sydenham were dealing with.
“The area must be restored to the status where men, women and children can walk freely without fear of drug users and pushers.
“We commend the relevant unit for its swift action and hope they have more in store for this area.” Dhupelia said.
Daily News