Durban — A drug dealer who absconded from court has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after he was rearrested.
The Pietermaritzburg Regional Court sentenced Samkelo Ndlovu, 22, for drug dealing.
On September 14 last year, Hawks members from the Pietermaritzburg Serious Organised Crime unit received information about a man dealing drugs on Jeqe Road, Ashdown, in Pietermaritzburg.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Sibu Ncane said a disruptive operation was swiftly set in motion and the members proceeded to the said place.
During the search, Samkelo Ndlovu was found with 63 pieces of crack cocaine with a street value of R3 150. He was arrested and charged with dealing in drugs.
“He appeared in Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court where he was released on R1 000 bail.
“However, Ndlovu did not attend the court again. In January 2024, the court issued a warrant of arrest for him. In April 2024 the accused was rearrested,” Ncane said.
“On Wednesday, July 17, the accused entered a guilty plea in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment of which one year was suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of dealing in drugs or similar offences during the period of suspension.
“The accused was further declared unfit to possess a firearm.”
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident last month, police and private security companies arrested a suspect for possession of drugs, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
At the time, KZN police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said that a 38-year-old man was arrested for possession of drugs after his arrest in Lusaka, Chatsworth.
The suspect appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on June 25 and the matter was remanded to September 18.
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