Three men facing charges in connection with the discovery of a cannabis plantation at a farm in the Okahandja district have made a first pretrial appearance in the Windhoek High Court, where they are due to stand trial.
The first appearance of the three accused – David van der Linden (44), Armand Schultz (28) and Johannes Kamati (62) – before deputy judge president Hannelie Prinsloo yesterday ended with their case being postponed to 17 February next year, when they are due to attend a second pretrial hearing in the High Court.
The three men are charged with counts of dealing in cannabis, alternatively possession of cannabis, and money laundering in connection with the discovery of a dagga plantation at farm Eendrag in the Hochfeld area north-east of Okahandja near the end of May last year.
The charges against the three accused involve about 2.38 tonnes of cannabis, alleged to be valued at about N$55.1million, and two half tablets of methaqualone (mandrax),valued at N$120.
The state is alleging that the police discovered about 2.4 tonnes of cannabis and two half mandrax tablets at farm Eendrag, which belonged to Van der Linden, on 28 May last year.
According to the state, Schultz was employed as a manager at the farm – an allegation that Schultz denied during a bail hearing in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court – and Kamati was employed by Van der Linden as a driver.
The state is alleging that on 28 May last year, the police caught Kamati while he was transporting 52 packets of cannabis, weighing 57.9kg and valued at about N$2.9 million, on the road between Hochfeld and Okahandja.
After the police detained Kamati, he allegedly volunteered to accompany police officers to Van der Linden’s farm, where the police were led to a dagga plantation and a storeroom in which cannabis was kept.
The police allegedly discovered dagga plants weighing 512.8kg, bags of cannabis weighing about one tonne, and more bags of dagga weighing 725.6kg in a warehouse.
The state is alleging that the police seized a total quantity of about 2 381kg of cannabis, valued at N$55.1 million, at the farm and from the vehicle Kamati was driving.
Van der Linden was granted bail in an amount of N$260 000 in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court at the start of June this year.
Kamati was granted bail in an amount of N$50 000 in an appeal judgement delivered in the Windhoek High Court in December, but remains in custody after not paying the bail amount.
Schultz is still being held in custody, after he was refused bail in the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court in March this year and an appeal against that decision was dismissed in the High Court in July.
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