A Toyota Hilux worth R270,000 used to smuggle heroin worth R4.5 million has been permanently forfeited to the state following a High Court ruling in Mbombela.
The vehicle, intercepted in 2018 on the N4 Freeway near Nelspruit, contained drugs hidden in a custom-built compartment.
Mpumalanga Hawks investigators secured the forfeiture order on Wednesday after tracing the 2018 case, which began when police acted on a tip-off near the Nkomazi Toll Plaza. Two suspects – a Malawian driver and a South African passenger – were arrested but later released on bail.
The Malawian national fled, prompting prosecutors to provisionally withdraw charges against the South African pending his co-accused’s recapture.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi confirmed the vehicle’s registered owner, a Pakistani national, could not be traced after investigators uncovered a false address. The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Unit continues to pursue criminal investigations.
Brigadier Danie Hall, Mpumalanga’s acting provincial head for priority crime investigations, warned that illegally obtained assets would face state seizure. The ruling marks South Africa’s latest effort to disrupt drug trafficking networks through combined criminal prosecutions and asset forfeitures.
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