Alleged drug dealer nabbed after seven years on the run

The suspect was arrested in Observatory, Cape Town by the Hawks’ George Serious Crime Investigation team on Wednesday.

Oct 13, 2022 - 17:42
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Alleged drug dealer nabbed after seven years on the run

An alleged drug dealer who managed to dodge arrest during a Hawks crackdown in 2015 was traced to Cape Town and finally caught on Wednesday, 12 October.

DRUG DEALER FINALLY ARRESTED

Renaldo Francois Theron, 42, along with other drug peddlers, was being watched by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks). The suspects were engaged in dealing cannabis.

The other alleged drug dealers were arrested years ago for possession of drugs worth R243 000 but Theron managed to evade the authorities and was on the run until Wednesday.

“The suspect was arrested by the George Serious Organised Crime Investigation team at a property in Lower Main Road, Observatory near Cape Town,” said Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani.

Theron made his first court appearance in the George Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning, 13 October, and was charged with possession of drugs.

The matter was postponed to 18 October when the accused is expected to make a formal bail application.

In an unrelated incident, a 69-year-old suspect was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs worth more than R1 million to India. Eight kilograms of pure heroin were found in his luggage.

READ MORE: Man, 69, tried to smuggle ‘pure heroin’ worth R1.2m to India

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