Members of the police Anti-Gang Unit raided a Rastafarian family’s home in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, at about 3.30pm on 10 October 2026.[1][2][3] Police spokesperson Colonel André Traut confirmed the operation, saying it ended in one arrest and the seizure of dagga, the local term for cannabis.[1][2][3] The amount seized was not stated in any account.[1][2][3]
The family’s account
The family says masked male officers arrived in several vehicles, broke into a separate dwelling with a crowbar without showing a search warrant, and damaged furniture and cupboards.[1][2][3] The complainant said six women were on the property but no female officers were present, and that young children were nearby while her 11-year-old daughter was out.[1][2]
She said officers took R2,500 in rent money from her 58-year-old mother’s handbag and forced the mother to eat a cannabis gummy against her will.[1][2][3] “They told my 58-year-old mother to eat the gummy against her will. She doesn’t take edibles; she never has,” she said.[1] The family says it holds documents for medicinal cannabis use and herbalist recognition, plus a permit for a small clothing business, and asks why the cannabis was seized.[1][2] It also says Rastafarian households are repeatedly targeted in such operations.[1][2]
A case against the police
Traut said a criminal case was registered against SAPS members over alleged cash theft during what he called an allegedly unauthorised search, and that the claims are under investigation.[1][2][3] “The allegations are serious and are being investigated,” he said.[3] The family opened theft and malicious-damage cases at Lentegeur police station and plans to approach the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.[1][2][3]
Private adult cannabis use in South Africa is protected under the 2018 Prince court judgment, while the 2024 Cannabis for Private Purposes Act has still not commenced.[4]
