671.5 kg of dagga seized from Eswatini truck at Oshoek border
Border Management Authority, Sars and police officers found 50 bags of dagga weighing about 671.5 kg, valued at R2.8 million, in a truck trailer at the Oshoek Port of Entry on 16 March 2026. The driver fled and was being hunted; the truck, dagga and 916 illicit tyres in the same load were seized and a criminal case opened.
🇿🇦 Oshoek Port of Entry, Mpumalanga · South Africa
A Border Management Authority, South African Revenue Service and South African
Police Service joint operation intercepted a truck entering South Africa from
Eswatini at the Oshoek Port of Entry at about 8pm on 16 March 2026.[1]Officers searched the vehicle and found 50 bags of dagga, the South African term
for cannabis, concealed in the trailer.[2]
The bags weighed about 671.5 kg and the authorities estimated their street value
at R2.8 million.[1]
The driver fled during the interception and was still at large, and a manhunt
was launched.[2]
The same trailer carried 916 illicit tyres, a separate contraband consignment.[1]The dagga and the tyres were registered with Saps as evidence, Sars seized
the truck, and a criminal case was opened.[2]
BMA commissioner Michael Masiapato commended the officials for the joint
operation.[2]Masiapato said the Port Management Committee was committed to
strengthening border security and preventing the cross-border movement of
illicit goods, stressing inter-agency collaboration against criminal networks.[3]No arrest was reported, and the manhunt for the driver was under way.[1]
Photos and video
Border Management Authority officers at the border, pictured with the SAnews report on the Oshoek interception. Photo: BMA via SAnews.Photo details
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.
