A Durban man has appeared in court for allegedly trying to bribe a police officer to make drug charges disappear.
|||Durban - An alleged Durban drug kingpin is accused of trying to bribe a police officer to make drug charges against one of his associates disappear.
For this Arthur Norris, 49, reportedly known as the “Mandrax king” in KZN, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of corruption.
He was also in the dock in the drug offences court, with relative Reagan Parsons, 46, charged with dealing in more then 1 500 methaqualone tablets, commonly known as Mandrax.
Norris’s nephew Justin also appeared on separate charges of dealing in cocaine.
The three were arrested in a raid at three different premises in Sydenham last Friday after a year-long undercover investigation by the Hawks, led by Captain Devin Moodley.
During the investigation, large quantities of Mandrax tablets were bought by undercover police officers last year and this year. The pills with a street value of R70 a tablet, are crushed and usually smoked with tobacco.
The police allege that Norris, who lives in Sydenham and runs a plumbing business, is one of the biggest Mandrax dealers in the province and supplies drug dealers in KZN, Port Elizabeth, East London and Cape Town.
The corruption charge sheet states that Norris gave a police officer R70 000 in two payouts last year and one in February, to “influence the outcome of a drug dealing case” involving Wesley Strachan.
Strachan, who is believed to work for Norris’s alleged drug syndicate, was arrested in October last year in Sydenham the police allege he wasi in possession of 10 068 Mandrax tablets with a street value of more than R400 000. The case against Strachan was provisionally withdrawn this year.
State advocate Mahen Naidu said there was no opposition to bail for Norris.
“He has a fixed address and we don’t envisage that he will be a flight risk. The witnesses are all police officers and there is no concern that he will attempt to interfere with them.”
In an affidavit, Norris said he intended pleading not guilty.
All three men were granted bail of R5 000 bail on the drug charges. Norris was granted R5 000 bail on the bribe charge. - The Mercury