The Hawks have made another breakthrough in arresting six people thus smashing a syndicate that police believe was behind a massive drugs dealing and smuggling ring.

Of the six, one was in Cape Town while three were arrested in Johannesburg.

The Germiston Organised Crime unit working with their Crime Intelligence counterparts and Asset Forfeiture Unit also seized $150 000 dollars, a locked safe believed to contain money, a house in the Carlswald, three vehicles including the state-of the art Mercedes Benz R500, cellphones and other articles police believe will prove the crime.

Simultaneous raids in Carlswad, Midrand and in Germiston were conducted. The Germiston address is believed to belong to the company that the suspects used for laundering money while the Carlswald address is the residence of the main suspect. He was not found there but was arrested in a house in Dainfern Golf Estate.

The six are all Nigerian nationals. Those arrested in Johannesburg will appear in court on Monday February 8 while the one arrested in Cape Town was due to appear in court today. She was found with R19 900 in cash.

In the search raids that police conducted, in one of the addresses it was clear that suspects got wind of the impending arrest or search and fled earlier in the day.

The project called Cameleon has been in Operation since 2008 it involves a drug smuggling network that was operational in Gauteng and Cape Town. Drugs were being smuggled from South America to this country.

Statement issued by Musa Zondi, South African Police Service, February 4 2010

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