Police bust KZN hydroponic dagga grower

A search by police of a house in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, recently yielded a R1,2 million haul of hydroponically grown dagga.

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“A 24-year-old suspect was arrested and charged for dealing in dagga,” said Zwane. “It is alleged that the suspect manufactures the drugs at his premises and sells them.”

On hearing of the hydroponic dagga haul, a bemused Johan van Veenendaal, senior lecturer: horticulture at KZN’s Cedara College of Agriculture, said he was surprised to hear of the plant being cultivated using this method, given that KZN had a favourable climate for outdoors dagga production.

“Doing it hydroponically would just be more expensive,” said Van Veenendaal.

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Willies Mchunu, KZN’s MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, praised the DFS for the drug bust.

“This recovery will certainly go down as a major stride in our war against drugs and other illegal substances,” he said. “Government has identified drugs as one of the key drivers of crime and criminality. We therefore urge communities to partner with the police to ensure that those dealing in drugs are removed from our communities.”