Hawks arrest 5 at Port Alfred cannabis factory

Five people have been arrested following the discovery of a sophisticated cannabis cultivation and packaging facility on the Mooifontein Quarry road outsidePort Alfred. Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, who was on the scene, commended the investigating team following the discovery of a large-scale hydroponics cannabis cultivation facility.

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba explained how the operation had unfolded.

“The Gqeberha based Serious Organised Crime Investigation South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) unit in collaboration with the Operational Response Services Gqeberha and East London, Visible Policing Unit Port Alfred, Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) and Criminal Intelligence Management Analysis Centre (CIMAC), acted on a search warrant and the team converged on a property on Mooiplaas Quarry Road, Port Alfred,” Fumba said.

“The team uncovered a sophisticated hydroponic cannabis cultivation laboratory. The team further discovered cannabis plants being grown under controlled conditions and various products, including dried cannabis and CBD oils.”

The laboratory was also allegedly used for packaging the cannabis products, ready for distribution.

“The swift action of the Hawks and other law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of five (5) suspects age between (22-36) at the scene, including three undocumented foreign nationals and two South African males. Furthermore, various exhibits were seized and specialists from the National Forensic Science Laboratory were called in to apply their expertise in processing the scene,” Fumba said.

The suspects were set to appear before the Port Alfred Magistrate’s Court on September 2, 2024, where they will face charges related to the Contravention of Immigration Act, Drug Trafficking Act and Medicines and Related Substances Act.

Ngwenya commended the Hawks’ “systematic investigative mechanisms aimed at dismantling organized crime networks and bringing perpetrators to justice”.