Hawks arrest two at dagga plantation with firearms
A multidisciplinary Hawks team raided a farm outside Nelspruit on 7 October, finding a dagga plantation, processed extract, two rifles, two handguns and ammunition on expired licences. A 71-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were arrested and appeared in court the next day.
🇿🇦 Farm outside Nelspruit, Mpumalanga · South Africa
- Arrested
- 2
Following Hawks intelligence that dagga was being cultivated and possessed at a farm in the Nelspruit area, a multidisciplinary team searched the premises on Wednesday 7 October 2026.[1][2] The intervention brought together serious organised crime investigators with the White River K9 unit, the National Intervention Unit, the Tactical Response Team and the local criminal record centre.[1]
Officers uncovered an established dagga plantation and processed dagga extract, along with two rifles, two handguns and a substantial quantity of live ammunition held on expired firearm licences.[1][2] A 71-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were arrested on charges under the Firearms Control Act and the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, including dagga cultivation and possession, and appeared before the Nelspruit District Court on 8 October.[1][2] Hawks provincial head Major General Nico Gerber said the operation showed the value of intelligence-led, multidisciplinary policing.[1][2]
Sources
- Hawks arrest two people following discovery of dagga plantation. SAnews, 8 October 2026. Archived copy.
- Hawks arrest two after dagga plantation and firearms seized near Nelspruit. Oudtshoorn Courant, 8 October 2026. Archived copy.