COPS RAID MBABANE BUS RANK, 3 ARRESTED

MBABANE – Members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) raided Mbabane Bus rank on a drug busting mission and three men were arrested.

The raid occurred on Saturday and the unsuspecting dagga dealers were arrested while they were going on with their business of selling the illegal substance in town on the day. Thulani Bhembe, Themba Msibi and Thokozani Matsebula all appeared before Mbabane Magistrate Lenhle Zulu yesterday. The trio said they were all unemployed yet they were fathers and had a responsibility for taking care of their children. They said they were forced by that situation to engage in the illegal business to try and make ends meet.

Msibi, who was nabbed with 0.547kg of dagga, said he was struggling to put food on the table for his family as he was now the breadwinner. “Your worship, I have three children who are all dependant on me and I am the breadwinner at home. “I know that dagga trading is illegal but unemployment has compelled me into this business so that I can take care of my family,” he said.

Warning

Before sentencing the offenders, Magistrate Zulu sent a stern warning to them, calling for them to refrain from engaging in the illegal business as they were not only at risk of facing jail time but also losing their lives. You are still young and you have a life ahead of you. It is an open secret that death is imminent when one is involved in this kind of trade, why risk it?
“I know you probably think its quick money but you have plenty of  options to earn a living.

“You can always choose to get in trade and make money legally than resorting to dagga,” she said. Msibi was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment with a fine option of E1 300, while Bhembe and Matsebula were both sentenced to 10 months imprisonment with a fine option of E1 000. Recreational parks are one of the popular dagga dealing spots in the capital city and the dealers put the dagga in small plastic moneybags which are then sold from as little as E10, depending on the grade of the dagga. Some dagga dealers opt for markets beyond the country’s borders, with the majority of their harvest transported to South Africa where dagga smoking was legalised last year.

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