Mpumalanga police find 500 kg dagga under coal in truck, arrest driver
A 56-year-old truck driver was intercepted in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, on 8 August 2023 after police found 104 bags holding 500 kg of dagga hidden under a load of coal on his truck, alleged to have come from eSwatini. He was charged with dagga trafficking, and police put the consignment's street value at R1 million.
A 56-year-old truck driver was arrested in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, for allegedly
trying to smuggle dagga into South Africa from eSwatini.[1]Police said he was
intercepted in Middelburg on Tuesday.[1]
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said officers had
received information that a coal-loaded truck was carrying bags of dagga
underneath the coal, and that the load was coming from eSwatini.[1]Officers
stopped the truck described in the tip-off and searched it with the help of a
Bidvest Security sniffer dog, and the driver was asked to offload it.[1]Police recovered 104 bags of dagga, each with names written on it.[1]
Mohlala said the dagga weighed 500 kg and had an estimated street value of R1
million.[1]The driver was arrested and charged with dagga trafficking.[1]He was due to appear in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.[1]
Mpumalanga provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Semakaleng Manamela
welcomed the arrest and thanked community members for the information.[1]She
said in a statement that dagga traffickers’ time had come to an end, especially
on Mpumalanga roads.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
IOLiol.co.zaTruck driver bust for allegedly trying to smuggle dagga worth R1 million into South Africa from eSwatini
Open questions the AI reported
The article gives the interception as "on Tuesday" and the court appearance as Thursday; the publication date, 10 August 2023, makes 8 August 2023 the likely incident date but no day is stated explicitly.
No second accessible account of this interception could be found, so all figures rest on this single IOL report of the police statement.
No court outcome beyond the expected first appearance in the Middelburg Magistrate's Court was reported.
The R1 million figure is the police's street-value estimate, not a market sale price.
The 500 kg figure is the police's own weight for the 104 bags; no separate laboratory weight was published.
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.
