Two tonnes of dagga found in truck trailers on the N1 near Laingsburg
Provincial traffic officers stopped a truck on the N1 between Laingsburg and Leeu-Gamka on 25 November 2023 and found 40 bags of compressed cannabis weighing two tonnes, valued at R16 million. The driver was arrested and detained at the Laingsburg police station.
🇿🇦 N1 between Laingsburg and Leeu-Gamka, Western Cape · South Africa
Western Cape Provincial Traffic Officers stopped a heavy motor vehicle for a routine
inspection on the N1 between Laingsburg and Leeu-Gamka on Saturday 25 November 2023.[1][2][3]While inspecting the truck’s two trailers, the officers found 40 bags of compressed
cannabis weighing two tonnes, with an estimated value of R16 million.[1][2][3]
The driver was arrested and detained at the Laingsburg police station.[1][2]The provincial
mobility minister, Ricardo MacKenzie, praised the officers and urged road users to support
their work heading into the festive season.[1][2][3]The police oversight minister, Reagen
Allen, said intercepting the shipments kept the drugs out of communities.[1][2]
The bust came a week after traffic officers and SAPS Crime Intelligence intercepted a
R7 milliondagga shipment on the N1 at Worcester after a tip-off, a separate event left
out here.[1][2][3]
Photos and video
Truck halted on the N1 with bags of cannabis, as published with reports on the November 2023 interceptions.Photo details
No court appearance or charge beyond the detention at Laingsburg police station was reported.
The reports do not say where the cannabis was loaded or where it was being taken.
The source illustrates its combined report on two November N1 interceptions with two photos and does not say which stop each photo shows; only the truck photo is listed here.
Free State police stopped a truck on the N1 south on 7 November 2026 and found 452 one-kilogram bales of dagga, but the driver jumped out of the moving vehicle about 100 metres from Parys police station and escaped on foot. The truck was impounded and its owner questioned; no arrest for the load had been reported.
Soldiers of 10 South African Infantry Battalion seized 78 kg of dagga valued at R473,000 during Operation CORONA patrols in the Musina area along the Limpopo River. The SANDF said the cannabis was allegedly intended to be smuggled into South Africa.
Police stopped a white Isuzu truck on the N4 near Vandyksdrift on 19 October and found 55 bags of compressed dagga weighing 1,680 kg, which they valued at R12 million. Two men who arrived in a Polo and allegedly offered the officers money were arrested with the driver.
Secunda Flying Squad officers found 103 kg of dagga worth about R800,000 in a Gauteng-registered Honda Civic stopped on the N17 near Leandra on 19 October 2026. The driver abandoned the car and fled on foot; the vehicle and the dagga were seized.
