A Strand man accused of being part of an international cocaine syndicate has been sent to the mang after he was nabbed by the Hawks over the weekend.
Jaco De Kock, 48, is the sixth suspect to be arrested following the R400 million cocaine bust in Pretoria earlier this year where the FBI and the Australian Federal Police came to the country to hunt the men believed to be part of the syndicate.
At the time of the bust, the Hawks arrested Niel Pieter Van Zyl, 39, on the N1 highway in Pretoria where he was found towing a 12-foot ski boat wherein 800kg of compressed pure cocaine with an estimated street value of R400 million was found.
A week later, the team came to Cape Town where they arrested Rafiek Baderoen, 44, Rashied Baderoen, 48, and Michael Norman, 38, in Strand.
It is believed the drugs were being stockpiled in South Africa and then shipped to various countries.
Hawks spokesperson Philani Nkwalase says they busted De Kock at a warehouse in Asla Park which was identified as a storage facility used by the syndicate.
“Two boats were also discovered on the premises of which one was being modified with concealed compartments,” Nkwalase says.
“The same Garden Master bags that were used to conceal the cocaine in the Lyttleton case were allegedly found on the boat.”
De Kock appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court yesterday where the case had been postponed to 23 August.
“The Israeli national, Ahmed Isa also known as Mickey, along with two Lithuanian nationals, Donates Jukna and Jonas Zulpa are still at large,” adds Nkwalase.
Anyone with information is asked to call W/O Brittion on 082 778 2815 or Brigadier Naicker on 082 778 2818.