Picture: for illustration purposes

Third Offender in Massive R400m Cocaine Bust Convicted, Ordered to Forfeit R2m

Published October 19, 2023
1 years ago

In a headlining case, The Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court has handed down an eight-year imprisonment sentence to the third accused in a colossal R400 million drug bust. Moreover, the defendant is directed to forfeit R2m to the State as a component of his sentence.



Eric Ntabazalila, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, explained that the court further ruled that Ebrahim Kara, a 40-year-old accused, surrender the 672 cocaine bricks discovered in the truck he was driving.


Kara, along with Elias Radebe and Meshack Mzungezi Ngobese, were apprehended after being found red-handed with the cocaine stash last year. Radebe was meted out a one-year effective imprisonment sentence, while Ngobese will serve six years direct imprisonment after both entered a plea and sentencing agreement with the State.


Kara, a father of five, business owner and IT consultant, confessed in his plea agreement that he had supplied Radebe with the truck used for drug transport from Gauteng to Cape Town. After loading the drugs in Gauteng, Radebe picked up his associate Ngobese and made their way to Cape Town with the drugs sealed in crates.



After stopping at N1 City, Goodwood, Kara took control of the truck while the others stayed put. However, upon driving through Athlone, Kara was apprehended and his vehicle subsequently searched by police. Radebe and Ngobese were struck with immediate arrest while officers uncovered the hidden cocaine, packed inside pine sheets.


Senior State advocate, Peter-John Damon stressed to the court that the seized narcotics were intended for the commercial market and not for personal use, due to their addictive nature and harmful effects on physical and mental health.


Kara's sentence includes 15 years’ of imprisonment, with seven years suspended for five years on the provision that he does not violate Section 4 or 5 of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 during the period of suspension.


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