A Nigerian national living in Zwelihle, Hermanus was ordered to pay R10 000 into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (Cara) after being convicted of dealing in drugs.
Zinzi Hani, spokesperson for the Hawks in the Western Cape, reported that Ugochuwu Nwonkwo (55) was sentenced by the Hermanus Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 30 March after he had entered into a plea agreement with the state for contravening the Drug and Drug Trafficking Act.
Aside from the Cara deposit, Nwonkwo was also sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Sting operation
The court has, however, wholly suspended the sentence for three years on condition he is not found guilty of a similar offence in the future.
Nwonkwo was arrested at the Whale Coast Mall in Hermanus on 3 March 2021 during a sting operation executed by a multidisciplinary team that included members of the Western Cape Hawks’ South African Narcotic Enforcement Bureau team (Saneb) and Crime Intelligence Overberg.
The authorities acted on information received about a man selling drugs.
Nwonkwo was arrested after he had sold drugs to an undercover officer. He was found with two grams of cocaine on his possession at the time.
Shortly after his arrest, Hani reported the sting operation followed an intelligence-driven operation held on 12 February 2021, during which the suspect allegedly sold two gram of cocaine for R2 000 to the agent.
During the sting operation in March 2021 the team conducted a similar procedure, during which two gram of cocaine was again sold to the agent in a parking lot at the Whale Coast Mall in Hermanus.
The suspect tried to flee from the police, but collided with one of the police vehicles.
The police seized five gram of cocaine, three cellphones and cash found in Nwonkwo’s possession.