Suspected nyaope dealer arrested

MOKOPANE - The police's Mahwelereng Cluster task team and the Mokopane police joined forces to arrest a 33-year-old man from Mahwelereng dealing in the dreaded nyaope drug. He was arrested in Ruiter Street after police found 40 sachets of nyaope in his possession.

A hit of Nyaope, a drug made up of low-grade heroin, marijuana, cleaning detergents and Rattex (rat poison), sells for about R35-R40 a hit in the streets of Mahwelereng and Marapong. The highly-addictive street drug is sold in loops, bags, hits, straws and foils.
The risk of overdosing from injecting is high as the user does not know what mix he is actually injecting into his body (10-50% heroin is used depending on the dealer). Another popular way of using this drug in South Africa is smoking, traditionally called “Chasing the dragon”. The drug is put on a foil and heated - the smoke is then inhaled with a straw.
According to a 2013 study by the Department of Social Development – Substance use, misuse and abuse amongst the youth in Limpopo the average age of drug users has decreased dramatically. Some of the users who participated in the study were as young as nine (9). These findings were confirmed when Northern News spoke to addicts in the Mokopane area recently.

With drug use on the rise, structures need to be put in place to assist users in rehabilitating their lives. The DAAC Restoration Organisation assists in the fight against crime, drug abuse and violent crimes. For information contact 082 593 7466 or visit DAAC’s offices at 40 Thabo Mbeki Drive, Mokopane.