A Rhodes student received a R500 fine on Tuesday in the Magistrate’s Court, Grahamstown, for dealing in LSD, after he was caught in a sting operation.
A Rhodes student received a R500 fine on Tuesday in the Magistrate’s Court, Grahamstown, for dealing in LSD, after he was caught in a sting operation.
The sting was set up in July last year by police warrant officers Anton Van Wyk and Danny Brits. Luke Mills, the accused, met with Van Wyk, posing as a potential buyer, in the New Street parking lot behind Checkers.
Van Wyk paid R600 for six units of LSD. The accused then asked for a lift to a nearby location where a signal was given to arrest the suspect.
The arrest formed part of a 15-day police crackdown on drug dealers known as Operation Firefly. The operation netted 11 suspects and almost R25 000 worth of drugs.
Mills pleaded guilty to drug dealing and was served his sentence of one year in prison. Mills’ attorney Marius Wolmarans argued that the terms of imprisonment be suspended due to a number of factors.
These included: the accused was 19 years of age at the time of arrest, he had no previous convictions, was studying towards a BComm degree, his father passed away when he was five years old and that he was dealing due to financial reasons.
State prosecutor, Noluvulyo Nondze, accepted the plea and Magistrate Nicole Redpath suspended his sentence for three years.
Redpath took Mills’ personal circumstances, as well as the fact he pleaded guilty and did not waste the court’s time, into account.
She also considered aggravating circumstances such as the fact that drug dealing is a serious offence and that the accused chose not only to be in possession of unlawful substances but also to distribute them.
However, Redpath felt the accused could learn from the experience and would not re-commit the offence.
