A Durban herbalist and an employee were arrested on Monday for alleged possession of commercial explosives that they were reportedly selling to members of the public to cure ”aches and pains”.
The explosive substance that the men were selling as an oral medication, was likely to cause ”unstoppable diarrhoea” and possibly death, according to police representative Superintendent Vishnu Naidoo.
Naidoo said members of the police’s Organised Crime Unit and metro police, acting on a tip-off, raided the herbalist’s shop in central Durban and recovered 10 commercial blasting cartridges and 33 packets containing an explosive substance in the shop.
The 44-year-old shop owner and his employee were apprehended. Naidoo said customers apparently bought the packets of explosives from the herbalist to cure themselves of aches and pains.
”However, probably unbeknown to the consumers, this substance is toxic, it could also cause unstoppable diarrhoea if consumed in excess, if not immediate death,” he said.
He said another worrying factor was that the explosives — enough to bring down a 20-storey building — were not stored properly.
Through ageing, the substance could explode on its own from excessive heat or shock and judging by the quantity recovered, the consequences would have been disastrous if it had exploded.
Police also recovered various body parts and hides of endangered animal species, which included animals such as the leopard, the African Rock Python, crocodile jaws.
The arrested men would face possible charges for the contravention of the Explosives Act and the Natal Nature Conservation Ordinance 15 of 1974. They would appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. – Sapa