The foreign nationals arrested in the massive R583 million cocaine haul at the port of Saldanha Bay on Monday had their case postponed due to the need for interpreters, Juandre Joubert reports
The men appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after they were arrested on Monday evening and charged with dealing in drugs.
The police found 973 blocks of compressed cocaine in three compartments of a fishing vessel.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said the case was postponed until March 12, due to the need for interpreters.
He said the men are charged with dealing drugs and alternatively possession of drugs.
“The matter has been postponed to March 12 in order to secure an interpreter. Four of the accused speak Bulgarian and six speak Burmese.”
Ntabazalila said: “The court was advised that there is a Bulgarian interpreter who is available and registered within the system, but it looks like we are going to have to secure an interpreter for the Myanmar accused.”
When the case is back in court on March 12, the State will have to inform the court if they’ve managed secure those two interpreters.