Paarl police’s successes have been crowned with the arrest of nine suspects on 19 January.
Spokesperson Capt Louise du Plessis said a buchu farmer in Drakenstein South, in the Keerweder area, was targeted for theft of the indigenous medicinal plant valued at thousands of rands. “The farmer managed to catch nine suspects with the buchu to the value of around R70 000 on the farm on Wednesday at about 01:00. It is alleged the suspects stole the property throughout the day and came back to transport it in the early hours.”
From Paarl East and between 20 and 39 years old, they appeared in Paarl Magistrates’ Court on 20 January, when eight received R1 000 bail and the ninth, Cornelius Philander (39), who was remanded into custody.
The suspects are due to appear in court again on 27 January.
