Man held at Mahamba with 4.3 kg dagga hidden in gas tank
Mpumalanga police arrested a 31-year-old Eswatini man at the Mahamba port of entry on 15 May 2023 after finding 4.316 kg of dagga hidden in a sealed gas cylinder. Police valued the dagga at about R18,000, and the man was charged with dagga possession and an immigration offence.
🇿🇦 Mahamba port of entry, Mpumalanga · South Africa
SAPS members from the Mahamba port of entry caught a 31-year-old suspect in the
act and arrested him at about 11.30am on Monday 15 May 2023.[1]The arrested
man was a 31-year-old Eswatini national stopped at the Mahamba Border Post in
Shiselweni after dagga was found in a gas cylinder in his possession.[2]Police described him as an undocumented foreign national from the Kingdom of
Eswatini carrying a gas cylinder that was sealed but fully loaded with dagga.[1]He was arrested and charged with possession of dagga and with being in
South Africa without valid documentation.[1]He was charged with possession of
dagga and an immigration-related charge.[2]He was expected to appear in the
Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court.[1]
Officers had spotted the suspect carrying the gas cylinder inside a plastic bag.[1]After checking the sealed cylinder, officers suspected it held something
other than gas and cut it open.[1]Mpumalanga police put the street value of
the dagga at around R18 000.[1]Police described the seized drug as dagga, the
local name for cannabis.[1]
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said police had
strengthened security measures against dagga trafficking from neighbouring
countries including the Kingdom of Eswatini.[1]He said security had been
tightened on South Africa’s borderline where false vehicle compartments were
uncovered recently.[1]He described the sealed gas cylinder as a new tactic
discovered by police officers.[1]
Photos and video
A gas tank cut in half showing dagga inside, with bagged dagga beside it. Photo: SAPSPhoto details
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Source: Cape ArgusPolice at the Mahamba port of entry with the cut-open sealed gas tank holding concealed dagga. Photo: SAPSPhoto details
The first account prints the weight as 4 316kg; it is recorded as 4.316 kg following the second account's 4.316kg, since several tonnes could not fit in a gas cylinder.
The suspect's name was not published, as he had not yet appeared in court.
No court outcome was reported beyond the expected appearance in the Piet Retief Magistrate's Court.
The sources give only the police account; no statement from the suspect was reported.
A third image on the page repeats the cut-tank photo at a different size, so it is listed once in media.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Africa-Press: The dagga in the cylinder weighed 4.316 kg.
Police stopped a red SUV on the R81 road at Ximuwini near Malamulele and found 14 plastic refuse bags of dagga, which Limpopo police valued at an estimated R662,400. The 55-year-old driver was detained at Malamulele Police Station and was due in the Malamulele Magistrate's Court on 9 November on a charge of dealing in dagga.
Police and private security arrested a driver after a high-speed chase from Sinoville to Bon Accord in Pretoria on 7 November 2026. Officers seized 240kg of dagga with an estimated street value of R960,000 from the vehicle and confiscated the vehicle.
Mpumalanga police stopped a 39-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal in a white Nissan NP200 at Mahamba before dawn on 3 November 2026 and found 30 rolls holding 158.2 kg of compressed dagga, which they valued at R1 million. He was charged with dealing in dagga and was expected in the Mkhondo Magistrate's Court on 5 November.
Acting on a tip-off, North West police stopped 21-year-old Lusanda Nhlangothi on the N12 near Christiana and found 4.654 kg of compressed dagga packed in two 20-litre drums. He was charged, appeared in court on 29 October and was remanded until a 5 November bail hearing.
