KEETMANSHOOP – Two Namibian men, who were found in possession of 20.930kg of cannabis worth over N$1 million in the town’s Tseiblaagte residential area, were denied bail on Monday in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court. 

Jamee Afrikaner (28) and McDonald Claasen (21) were “apprehended with big bags – and when searched, parcels containing cannabis were found and seized,” the crime report said.

In his weekend crime report, crime investigations coordinator Nicodemus Mbako narrated that after a public tip-off, a sedan vehicle, with registration number N3140K, was followed and stopped by law enforcement officers. Two suspects abandoned the car and fled the crime scene on foot. 

“The police afterwards managed to apprehend two out of four suspects, who were in possession of 20 big bags of cannabis,” the deputy commissioner explained. 

During the duo’s first court appearance, public prosecutor Iyaloo Haipinge objected to the granting of bail, with reasons that the State is still in the process of tracing the other two suspects. 

She afterwards requested for the case to be remanded until 15 June 2023, pending further police investigations, which magistrate Erich Dandu granted accordingly. 

In another unrelated incident, an eight-year-old boy drowned in a sewerage dam in Karasburg last Sunday. 

Mbako stated the victim’s body has been retrieved and his next of kin was informed accordingly. 

“The body has been ferried to the State mortuary in Keetmanshoop for an autopsy, whilst police investigations are continuing,” he added.  

- sklukowski@nepc.com.na