The asset forfeiture unit has seized assets valued at about R3,5-billion from a Chinese national allegedly involved in drug trafficking, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Thursday.
NPA spokesperson Lucinda Moonieya said a house in Jukskei Park and five luxury vehicles were seized.
These belonged to alleged drug-trafficking boss Jin Yuan Liang who was indirectly responsible for importing four tonnes of methaqualone powder — the active ingredient of Mandrax — into the country, the NPA said.
An application for the attachment of Liang’s assets was made in December 2005 and passed in the Johannesburg High Court earlier this week, said Moonieya.
It followed extensive investigations since 2003 when raids on houses in Fourways led to the discovery of Mandrax tablets and methaqualone powder.
Moonieya said financial investigations into the flow of funds of Liang’s employees enabled the Scorpions to raid two houses in Fourways in July 2003.
”In the first house, they recovered nearly four tonnes of pure methaqualone powder. They discovered a sophisticated Mandrax press capable of producing up to 7 000 tablets an hour, stored in a hidden room in the second house,” said Moonieya. ”It is believed that the second house was in the process of being converted into a Mandrax factory.”
Once processed, the methaqualone powder would have produced more than 10-million Mandrax tablets with a street value of more than R700-million, Moonieya said.
Further investigations led to the discovery of more than 260 000 Mandrax tablets at a third house in the same area. Four men, suspected of being in Liang’s employ, were arrested and convicted following these raids.
Chi Man Ho was convicted on two counts of dealing in Mandrax. He admitted to storing the methaqualone powder and Mandrax tablets in two luxury homes that he leased.
He was also convicted of corruption for offering a Scorpions investigator R500 000 to release him. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, of which five were suspended.
Luping Zhang and Ming Fong Zong both admitted to transporting the methaqualone powder from Waterford Estate to the Jukskei Park house. They were convicted of dealing in four tonnes of methaqualone powder and each sentenced to 10 years in prison, of which five were suspended.
Another man, Min Chang Liu, was convicted for dealing in methaqualone powder and sentenced to eight years in prison, of which five were suspended.
Moonieya said the judgement was a victory in the fight against drugs and drug trafficking in South Africa. — Sapa