PRETENDING to be potato crisp distributors from Jozini, two men were caught driving a bakkie loaded with chip branded bags concealing bags of dagga on the N2 outside Pongola last Sunday.
Members of the public policing unit and Empangeni K9 Unit, with the support of various car tracking and recovery companies, conducted a vehicle checkpoint in the area to recover stolen and hijacked vehicles.
What they found instead was the bulk drugs weighing more than 370kgs, estimated to have a street value of more than R740 000 based on the KwaZulu-Natal market price of R2 per gram.
According to Colonel Dave Whittaker and Sergeant Kenny Sloane, the bakkie had a high canopy with large bags of chips concealing the illegal substances at the back of the load bin.
After removing the chips, the police found 38 bags of dagga.
Pineapple peelings were scattered on the floor to hide the smell of marijuana.
The dagga was said to have been bought in Jozini and was destined for the Thembisa township in Gauteng where the suspects live.
Both men, aged 41 and 32 years of age, were arrested and charged with dealing in illegal substances.
They are being detained at the Pongola SAPS until their next appearance in the Pongola Magistrates Court tomorrow (Tuesday).
